Session 44-50: The Case of Kargir Yu, Prelude to War

Session 44-45: The Mysterious Courier

 

Session 44: Precipice of War

It's the evening of K'aamni's birthday celebration. Many gifts have been arranged for both the celebrant and her party members, and important people in K'aamni's life have celebrated her birthday with her for the day. Among the notable gifts were a whole collection of sweets by various people, wooden bracelets with unique, individualized designs carved by Eris, a signed book in the saga of Sarta, K'aamni's favorite series, and a visit to a magic museum, arranged by Stephanie. By midnight at Harrison's home, the celebrations have winded down and the presents have been opened. Ylladi has even arrived to present the party a gift: a Bag of Holding¹ for their future use.

But, the moment the day ends, the party hears a knock at the front door, and when answering, they are met with Omren, a loxodon who introduces himself as M.V.'s assistant. Ylladi seems to be unaware of his impending arrival, and the reason for this is made clear soon enough: M.V. has a new assignment for the party. A courier has been murdered in a dark alleyway in Corsican District, and while this is not necessarily a cause for concern, M.V. suspects that a conspiracy may be taking place due to the courier's discovered Invisible Hand connection, and that it is up to the party to investigate the crime in a discrete manner. Not only that, but a sketch of an eyewitness account to the crime raises even more questions: a half-pink, half-black taliyan was seen perpetrating the crime, matching the description of Faessi's biological father, Vano.  

Session 45: The Mysterious Courier

      Alarmed by this information, the party soon sets off for the Corsican Precinct, where they find Lt. Kyrie awaiting them, having been informed that Lumière Éternelle would be willing to help her investigate the crime. She tells them the details that have been sourced to Omren, before letting them inspect the body. While inspecting the courier's body, they establish the following facts and find quite a few secrets:

• The courier's name is unknown, but he appears to be a middle-aged man who uses his cover job as a courier to serve as an Invisible Hand Broker.
• A stab wound dripping with poison was purported to have killed him. The M.O. seems to match those of Serpent's Bite: a vigilante group that goes against the Council and the guilds.
  • This was not the true cause of death. Untangling his hair and searching deeply, they found a small hold on the back of his head that looked like it had been cauterized from the inside out.
• Among his belongings and on his person, a fake layer of cloth and skin, respectively, were discovered, but what could've been hidden within could not be found. It seems that they were forcefully taken, and whoever did this deed knew where they would be located beforehand.

Overall, while the crime had a hallmark symbol of a Serpent's Bite message, the other circumstances surrounding the courier's death proved that something else was at play. To investigate this, Lt. Kyrie proposed three leads:

• Lt. Kyrie was planning on re-interrogating the witness to the crime, a vedalken by the name of Ilev. Now knowing that she was withholding information, she planned on getting some new answers.
• An informant of hers, a cheery bard named Chia, was investigating the trail of the courier, and she traced the trail all the way through Freya Salva District, where Lumière Éternelle first met and worked together.
• A token task force seems to be organizing within the Wellspring of Life District, intending to raid a suspected Serpent's Bite hideout. The party, interested in getting answers from the suspected group, resolves to go after this lead.

At the Wellspring of Life precinct, the party meets the lead of the task force: a Peacekeeper Captain named Delmythe the Ironsworn, who seems to be leading Dulnur and Faralei, a Peacekeeper duo the party met in Nouvelle. There, the strict captain recruits Lumière Éternelle into the raid, stating that they're aiming to bring in a Lieutenant of Vano: a kenku by the name of Swooper. After hashing out the details of the raid, including the party swearing not to kill any of the Serpent's Bite members, the party prepares themselves  

The raid commences, and the combined forces of the trio of Peacekeepers plus the force presented by Lumière Éternelle overwhelmed the hideout, capturing many. However, the party noted that injured and non-members also made up the population of this hideout. Stephanie also managed to secure a vial of Serpent's Bite's poison for her own use. In the chaos of the raid, Swooper had managed to escape with a few scouts and spies, and so the party chased after them, emerging out into a busy town square. Making use of their wits, investigation skills, and speaking to the folk of the town square, managed to secure most of the spies and scouts, causing Swooper to surrender in exchange for their lives...  

However, unbeknownst to the party, Stephanie had different plans. When she managed to corner a scout on her own, she donned a mask, hiding her face when she used her crossbow to perform the unthinkable...  

Show me where your leader is.

— Stephanie, moments before killing the scout.

 

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Session 46-47: Smuggled Melange

Session 46: To Be Lawful or Good

Now having Swooper tied up, the party and Cpt. Delmythe immediately began interrogating her before she was imprisoned. The two of them had very different viewpoints about the facts surrounding the Serpent's Bite and their code, as well as their involvement with the crime in Corsican:

• Swooper doesn't know Vano's current location. In fact, none of the Serpent's Bite lieutenants knew where his location was, only that he had an "important meeting" on the day of the crime. They hadn't known of any plans to assassinate a courier, of all people, as they have a strict policy of no murder.
• Serpent's Bite's legitimacy was questioned. Swooper claims that they only work to improve the conditions of the underrepresented and the discriminated against of Verdane, especially from the corruption of the guilds. Cpt. Delmythe retorts that they have left people with fates worse than death and have destroyed property beyond acceptable ranges.
• When Faessi decided to show his face to Swooper, she had been surprised at his turn of events, but she told him that everyone in Serpent's Bite believed in his cause, with some even saying his policy of not killing was too "soft".

Once the interrogation concluded, Delmythe responded positively to the party's efficiency, but she warned that the party shouldn't get any ideas sympathizing with the criminals of Serpent's Bite, especially since Faessi is seeking out his father, the leader of this group. When the party left to return to Corsican, Nicolette made her presence know to Stephanie, signifying that she was watching her actions throughout the entire raid.   When they returned to Corsican precinct, they witnessed a chance interaction between Lt. Kyrie and a haughty elven noble: one named Erdan Hiame, a banker who seemed to be looking for information on what happened to his courier, and more specifically, where his cargo was. He seemed to have been dismissive of the courier's condition, and leaves after he is told that no information can be shared as of this moment. The party then gives their report to Lt. Kyrie. In exchange for their information, she gives them a report from the investigators examining the body: the wound they found on the back of the courier's head seems to have been specifically made by a special bolt designed to hold fire while in flight, suggesting that whoever performed the killing was a highly-trained killer.   Before they could decide on what to investigate next, however, a report came in that Chia was trapped within Freya Salva, but that she had found evidence with regards to the contents of what the courier was truly delivering. Lt. Kyrie enlisted the party's aid to rescue her, and they immediately set out to Freya Salva.

On the way to rescue the bard, the party observes several sights:

• The train tracks where the party first worked together. Lt. Kyrie reminisces on that day, when she was still a Sergeant.
• A gnomish denizen wandering through an overgrown marketplace. It was noted that the place used to be a nice market back when it hadn't been Reclaimed, and its Reclamation had led to Corsican becoming a Shadowed District.
  • K'aamni managed to deduce that the gnome had been a miner, reminded of the ring and letter she looted from the abandoned mine.
• An old construct lifting what appeared to be humanoid remains idly wandering about the ruins of Freya Salva. These were known as "Old Lifters". They were created to lift objects, but they were not trained to lift their objects gently, resulting in the death of its original creator.

 

Eventually, they arrived at the swamp, which they found to be surrounded with old lifters and large mutated lobster abominations known as Chuuls. Not only that, but the landscape was dotted with the corrosive Black Oozes, which camouflaged onto various innocuous surfaces. At the other end of the swamp, they found a mass of chuuls awaiting Chia, and so the party devises a plan to divert the denizens' attention away from her, so that Quico and K'aamni can perform a series of warps to rescue her. While the chuuls' magic sense and heightened hearing and lifters' wide range of vision prove to be challenging to navigate, as well as the treacherous landscape, the party manages to bring Chia out and escape.  

Once safe, Chia cheerily shares the information she's gotten with the party: a sack of what appears to be an illegal drug, as well as a work order which belonged to the courier, with a few key details left unredacted. The package, when opened, contained an orange powder known as melange, which Lt. Kyrie explained was a highly-addictive performance-enhancing drug that had been banned for use, production, and importation in Verdane. The work order named a sender and receiver for this package: one Erdan Hiame as the sender, and one Ronur the Bloodthirster as the receiver. Both were prominent members of guilds, plunging this murder into further mystery.    

Session 47: Missing Links

  The next day, to take a break from the investigation, Faessi and K'aamni sneak into the kitchens of the Homely Rest to make a surprise meal for the birthday of their former professor, Quico. They happen to meet Jilarys Foucault during this venture, where she gives them ingredients to make Quico's favorite drink. Once they're done making the drink, they surprise the party with a great-tasting, freshly-made breakfast platter, with Quico getting the lion's share of the feast due to his birthday.

With their morning respite done, the party is visited by Lt. Kyrie, who advises them of a lead into one of the two parties: Ronur the Bloodthirster is one of the prominent organizers who is running part of the Bloodsport Arena Biennial Exhibition Matches. With the event a week away, she advises the party to investigate on their own leads and to prepare themselves for the event, whether they participate in the matches or decide to infiltrate the guild.   With that, the party sets off on a week of investigation:

• The party discovers several aspects of Melange usage and distribution:
  • With Anthony Xavier's help, the party finds that Melange withdrawal results in a host of physical symptoms and dependency.
  • Rv. Fontaine's uneasiness regarding a recent shipment and the Ore Fishers assigned to transport reveals several unmarked packages and several different transport routes being used to obfuscate potential disruptions, likely to prevent another case of the courier being killed and robbed of their cargo.
  • Some insights from people who either deal or prohibit Melange include the telltale signs of production and the fact that it's easier to import it rather than produce it.
  • A raid with the gendarmerie into a warehouse suspected of Melange production reveals the exact equipment used to produce it, as well as the looking glasses and compounds needed to detect the telltale yellow smoke that production creates.
• The party also meets with and hears about close friends and family.
  • The party visits Pierre Sylvestre to get some insight into Ronur's fame and the prestige of being grouped into one of his matches. Notably, the news that Faessi has found traces of his biological father lights a quiet fury into him, as he seems to be hiding something about Faessi's adoption that he holds against Vano.
  • K'aamni received a message from her brother, Kaeya, who tells her that her mom has just realized that the Mana Vessel is missing, and she seems to be looking for it with intent.
  • Stephanie receives a message from his mom: it's better if she stayed away from Nicolette from now, as it seems that a conflict is brewing due to recent events.
  • Eris gets informed by Sal that a Templar and Circle Mage duo came looking for her, but left before she returned to the Homely Rest.

Eventually, the final day of preparations is at hand, and the party prepares disguises and stage personas to ensure that their reputation doesn't interfere with their investigation. Eris and Tandi decide to participate in a match as the newcomer duo Grin and Glower, Faessi and Stephanie serve as advertisers to get backstage access, while Harrison, K'aamni, and Quico will serve as spectators until the advertiser duo begins sneaking around.   However, behind the scenes, there appears to be trouble brewing in the Colosseum. Ronur is furious over the loss of his precious delivery of Melange. Erdan, sensing an opportunity, whispers unfounded lies and rumors into his ear, spurring his fury towards the Returners for "stealing his Melange". To protect his future cargo, Erdan shows his business partner a new "friend" of his: a representative product of the Thedosian Magic Practitioners known as the Scourge Disciple, with its crooked round hat, dark flowing robes, and unearthly aura augmented by its enhanced spellcasting. As the two business partners in crime shake on this new arrangement, Nicolette looks on, worried about what this entails for her and her guild...    

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Session 48: Bloodsport and Subterfuge

With their disguises in place and with their roles confirmed, the party sets out for Colosseum District. As they enter the District, they are greeted with the sights of loud, rowdy streets filled with performances and shop stands to take advantage of the spectacles and high-level matches that are about to take place in the grand arenas all around them. Their destination, however, is the biggest arena in all of the District, which makes up its namesake: the Colosseum right in the center of down, attracting the largest crowd and the most prestigious fights, where arena fighters and gladiators fight for fame and glory, and the Bloodsport Arena members recruit prospective combatants to increase their own fortunes. The party separates into three parties to begin their respective reconnaissance missions...  

The three groups encounter some notable events and gather some information:

• Eris and Tandi enter the training pits to prepare for their matches. A gladiator named Mercy gives everyone the rules of engagement before anyone enters the ring: Only a single match is allowed for each register, given the number of matches and showfights to be played out by the day. Once the matches begin, it will continue until either side concedes, or until the incapacitation/death of the other side. Finally, the only thing more sacred than the spilling of blood of a lesser foe is the concession of victory to the stronger opponent.
• Faessi and Stephanie, while receiving payment from their role in advertising for the matches, overhears a conversation between the chief advertiser and a kobold Ore Fisher named Nelle, who is told to wheel his cargo into the backstage area, without letting anyone know what's in his wheelbarrow. Both agree that this could be their lead into the backstages to find any evidence of illicit dealings.
• Harrison, K'aamni, and Quico, while heading to their spectators seats, happens to come across a duo of Circle Mage/Templar questioning the guards on where the backstage is, in search of something dangerous. Upon closer look, they are surprised to find Elleveryn Rayne, with a scribe's eye over her shoulder, recording the conversation made between a blonde Templar and a guard for the venue, before leaving.

Soon, the match for Grin and Glower commences, and the duo of Eris and Tandi, in disguise, ascends to face their opponents. There, they see Ronur the Bloodthirster presiding over their match as they enter the ring, hyping the crowd up for both challenger and defender. With the cheery Tandi as Grin, and the dour Eris as Glower, they face off against a duo named Stalwart Roar, consisting of a proud golden gladiator with a spear and shield, as well as a ferocious taliyan bruiser serving as his partner. With both duos squared up, they commence the fight, where the duo immediately notice the defenders seemingly having their physical capabilities expanded beyond normal humanoid limits, striking with fury and moving with potent speed. However, Eris and Tandi's defense and teamwork proves greater over the team's individual capabilities, and they are able to down one after the other with an intense fight. When the tide turned against his prize fighters, Ronur grows furious with each strike. Eventually, the fight concludes in Grin and Glower's victory, earning a sizable gold bounty, while Ronur leaves in frustration over some of his best fighters being bested.  

Meanwhile, the two backstage parties meet up, following after the kobold miner delivering a wheelbarrow of unknown supplies. Utilizing their disguises and their charisma, the party manage to sneak their way into the upper floors of the Colosseum backstage. It is at this point, however, that Stephanie decides that she'll meet with the party at the storage rooms, as she might sneak better alone, before separating from them.   Soon, the four of Faessi, K'aamni, Harrison, and Quico sneak backstage, but are immediately caught when they are surprised by the powerful noses of panthers that the Bloodsport Arena fighters let roam freely. They are forced into a fight with the backstage arena fighters and their guardian panthers, forced into an ugly melee where their martial fighters would've flourshed.  

Midway into the melee, the party is surprised to find the Templar and Circle Mage duo rushing in, revealing themselves to be Elle and her partner and longtime childhood friend, Verdias Lyon. While Elle is shocked to see the party is such a place, Verdias reminds her to keep her eyes on the prize, as in the middle of the storage area, a dark swirl of magical power coalesces into one spot, spawning a floating Scourge Disciple come to wreak havoc upon all in its way. The melee turns into a fight to keep the Disciple from casting its damaging spells. Even when one is knocked unconscious, the Disciple has the power to drain life from its fallen foes, as the six challengers found out when one of the fighters they had knocked out had its life drained until it was nothing but skin and bones, nourishing the Disciple's body. With the combined spellcasting of the party plus the holy power and determination of Verdias and the methodical spellcasting and fairy companion of Elle, the party triumphs over the Disciple.  

As the Scourge Disciple falls, their figure wastes away just as they did to their victims, leaving nothing but a decrepit body. Verdias collects the body, but seeing that the party belonged to Lumière Éternelle, gave them a warning he wished to be delivered to Eris:  

Remember what you did to me all those years ago.

— Verdias Lyon, with a grim tone.

The two leave, letting the party explore the storage room. There, they discover Nelle had been tied up with an intricate trap tied around him. As a Savoir kobold, he walks them through disarming it, then as soon as he is freed, he thanks the party for saving him. He claims that he hadn't known what the cargo contained when he was sent here, and that some "skilled spy" knocked him out and tied him up in such a way that he couldn't see what they looked like. However, while he was tied up, he heard the spy speak of bringing the cargo to "a ranch just outside of Verdane", before blowing open a portion of the outer wall and escaping through it.   Meanwhile, as the duo of Eris and Tandi celebrate their victory, they notice the signs of Melange dependency on the gladiators they had incapacitated, before they were rushed to be treated by medics on standby. When they move to claim their reward, they are approached by Mercy, who apologizes for the display they had just seen, lamenting that things around the Bloodsport Arena used to be better. When pressed on this concern, he reveals that he's looking for perspective people like the two of them to investigate something for him: why Ronur the Bloodthirster is acting in a corrupt way, and who is corrupting him.   With two different avenues of investigation available, the party moves to reconvene. However, one person remains unaccounted for... Stephanie Auclair, who mysteriously disappeared after separating from the party.

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Session 49-50: Ambush on Geronimo Ranch

 

Session 49: Loyal Warrior

With Grin and Glower collecting their prize pool and the backstage runners reconvening within the Colosseum halls, the absence of Stephanie becomes immediately apparent to everyone, especially Tandi. Concerned for her friend, she immediately sets off to try and look for her, with everyone following closely behind. It is as they wander the tall, spacious halls of the Colosseum where they spot a confrontation happening: a group of gendarmerie and Bloodsport personnel confronting Elle over the death of one of their guild members in the backstage storage room, the one that the Scourge Disciple had drained of life. While Eris was eager to give the aggressors a piece of her mind, unaware of the events that had transpired backstage, Elle stepped up to reassure her that she could handle herself and that she'll submit to detention until they figure out the truth of what happened. As she walks away with the guards and personnel, the party reveals to Eris that Verdias is within this District, and that he's still holding a grudge, causing her to feel some kind of way.   With two different leads to consider, the party first hears out Mercy's request. They meet in an unused round table room, where Mercy lays out the details of what's happening behind the scenes: Ronur the Bloodthirster used to be a good leader that inspired confidence in his roster of warriors and gladiators. But as the pressures of holding grander events and bringing in more money for the guild mounted on him, he started introducing Melange to his people so that they could fight harder, faster, better, and stronger than those of his peers, even if it meant deteriorating their bodies in the long run. Those who didn't perform up to his standard were kicked to the curb. Mercy wished for the party to consider investigating Ronur and his business partner, and find what they can do to dismantle this farce.   While the party considered his request, they ultimately decided to go with the more concrete option: the ranch outside of Verdane. Hailing a caravan to bring them to the village of Montrésor, the party learned from the villagers that not only was there trouble brewing due to tremors that have been rocking the area recently, but also that there were strange burrowing creatures that were behind the tremors, including one whose very presence dazed and confused those near it. One of the villagers, an elderly halfling, was asked regarding suspicious activities around the village, and he eventually revealed that cargo shipments were being moved in and out of Geronimo Ranch.   Investigating, the party discovered that not only were there Serpent's Bite members in disguise lounging about, but there was also a second group of people hiding out at the same spot. As they snuck about and eavesdropped on conversations, they were struck by the sense that the people here were hiding not to guard any stolen cargo, but by necessity due to recent events: Serpent's Bite being forced out of Wellspring of Life, and the other group due to "corrupt Gendarmerie". Notable events and overheard conversations:

• One Serpent's Bite member speaks of the attack on Wellspring of Life, wondering if a few of his friends got away.
• A vedalken mage speaks of being worried to her goblin protector, wondering if they are being pursued to this very moment.
• Eris, using her echo's ability, scouts out that there is an approaching set of tremors from the north, indicating that the creatures are moving towards this hill.
• A few manage to look inside the ranch house, where they spot the leader of this area: a proud minotaur, who tells all the people gathered to stay strong and vigilant while they wait here.

 

Eventually, the party gets caught right at the ranch's doorstep. Meanwhile, Eris herself is caught by an unsuspecting young mage named Monde. Sensing danger, she drew her weapon on him, but he seemed quite harmless, and even surrendered himself to her control, so that she could ensure that her own party members would not be harmed as well. The party gathers within the ranch house, where the minotaur introduces himself as Grakan Strongbody, second-in-command to Vano himself. When Faessi reveals his face in response, the minotaur first thought that he was trying to deceive him, wearing his leader's face. When things were explained to him, however, he finally understood, and explained everything about Vano to his son.   Vano was not of Verdane, but moved in only a few years ago. He was described as a man of conviction, with big dreams, a strong set of morals, and a tendency to sacrifice himself before letting others sacrifice themselves for him. In recent days, he had been planning a big operation that could "expose the evil of the guilds to Verdane", and that he kept everyone in the dark about it. Even to Grakan, he only told him that he wanted him to take over in case anything bad happened to him. As such, the vigilante group hadn't known about the Melange connection, the courier's murder, and Vano's whereabouts, as he became unreachable after that fateful day. He also reveals one important details to Faessi: his birth name is Ciaran, and that his father still continues to look for him to this day.  

Seeing the minotaur's willingness to share information, the aforementioned vedalken steps forward, revealing herself to be Lt. Kyrie's witness: Ilev. She recounts her experience with the courier: she knew him as Kargir Yu, a conman, who, on the day she and her people arrived in Verdane, saved her from a scam artist for seemingly no reason. The two became friends, but one day, Kargir told him not to follow her, as he was about to embark on a dangerous trip. Not heeding his warning, she followed him out anyway, all the way to Corsican where she witnessed him meeting with Vano. While the details of their conversation remained hazy, a scuffle broke out where the two struggled over a package, and it was in that struggle where the taliyan stabbed him with a poison-tipped blade. She watched as the courier struggle to get away, Vano trying to catch up to him to relieve him of his pain and to secure what he came for, when a flying crossbow bolt on fire struck Kargir perfectly on the back of his head, killing him instantly and sending Vano fleeing. As she hid, she watched the assailant appear and rob Kargir of his belongings, grabbing packages from his bag's secret compartment as well as behind the fake skin he wore on his back. Finally, the assassin turned to look at her, aware she was there the whole time, and warned her not to trust anyone, not even the gendarmerie, as several guilds and factions would be looking for the items that they just stole, before disappearing into the night.   Before anything could be done with the information they had gathered, a Serpent's Bite member tried to break into the room and attack the party, mad with grief and being only barely held back by Monde. He accused the party of being murderers, bringing up information that sent the party reeling: one of them had murdered his friend in cold blood during their raid into their Wellspring of Life hideout. K'aamni, having been near Stephanie during the whole investigation, realized the chilling truth:   Stephanie had killed that scout in cold blood, and she didn't know.   Most of the party grappled with this revelation, but Eris took it especially hard. She was just beginning to warm up to Steph as a companion and respect her as a combatant, and she felt that her trust was betrayed. Furious, she goes out to deal with the approaching tremors she had seen approaching earlier, recruiting Ilev's protector, Jakk, and Monde in the process, while the rest of the party stayed behind. As they exited out of the building, Monde tried to reassure her, telling her that regardless of everything that had happened and been revealed, he had hoped that Eris and her party could truly become allies with Ilev and Serpent's Bite. Eris agrees with him, and they were about to shake on a new companionship, when suddenly she was sprayed with blood from her front. She looked up, and saw the young mage's eye shot out, the burning tip of a crossbow bolt sticking out of it as he gurgled on his own blood. When he fell into her arms, she saw the culprit behind this murder: the assassin behind Kargir Yu's death.  

An ambush is called, and the sounds of tremors and bootsteps begin converging on the hill...  

Session 50: Ambush!

The stage is set, and the ambush is sprung. Lumière Éternelle has fallen right into the ambushers' hands. The assassin that fired the fatal shot at Monde hands off command to Prime, who is now much more well-armed and holding a grudge against the party. Wielding a bell with one arm and a staff on the other, he draws the attention of the burrowing creatures on their way to the hill, and with a flick of the staff, he commands a set of warforged archers to appear all around the hill. Elven guerillas with light armor and blades infused with fire and lightning rush at the house with the intent to kill. Grakan recognizes the sound of war, sees the ambush, and declares to everyone that the party, Serpent's Bite, and Ilev's people must flee.   However, Eris hears a voice from her demon. As she stands her ground with Jakk, swearing to make them pay for killing Monde and to return to her allies, she is haunted by the voice that has so influenced her into irrationality before:  

You could've had him. You could've protected him, but your enemies will never let you have one good thing in your life. Verdias has it so good. Elle could never get through an event like this. Now here I am, offering you the one good chance you have for vengeance…

— The Demon within Eris.

With those words, a new form of her echo manifests right next to her. A winged creature, with eyes all over its body, glowing with a faint purple aura surrounding it. One that can't be bent to Eris' whim: her Ascended Echo.



Eris, hearing these words and seeing this sight, loses hope. She tells Jakk to defend the others, and launches into a suicidal charge towards Prime and the warforged archers, swearing to kill all of them before she dies.   As the party is harassed with volleys of precise arrows and the speed and might that the spellblades possess, K'aamni suddenly realizes that Eris is nowhere to be seen amongst the fleeing innocents. She exits the ranch house alongside Quico in an attempt to find her ally, only to find Eris surrounded by hostiles, with a new form of her echo killing alongside her. A precise command by Prime sends Quico reeling, pincushioned with arrows, but K'aamni presses on, swearing to protect Eris. Eris aggressively tells her that staying here will lead to both their deaths, but she is not easily dissuaded.  

While the innocents are being extracted by the party, Grakan, and Ilev's efforts, and Eris, K'aamni, and Jakk hold off the northern forces, the tremors reach their peak, as the ground shatters, two gigantic creatures sprining forth from both northern and southern ends of the ranch: the massive, armor-plated bulettes, and the mystifying, chitinous umber hulks. Prime, at this point, also reveals his trump card: he is strapped with explosives, and he's willing to sacrifice himself if it means taking out the party. Seeing no other options, Eris devises a plan for K'aamni to live: she needs to hide behind one of the gigantic creatures to survive the explosion. With mirror images shattering, Jakk leading a bulette away from the battlefield as bait, and the southern escaping forces tied up with beast and blade alike, the chaos of the battlefield reaches its peak. Harrison, seeing that Eris' determination is absolute, but that there's still a chance to save K'aamni, brings her out of the killing fields, saving her life, but leaving Eris and her echo alone.  

When a strong force from one of the burrowing creatures knocks Eris down to the ground, she can only watch as Prime moves up to her, weakened himself, clutching his rapier at her battered body.

This is for Wellspring of Life... and THIS... THIS is what happens to those who oppose us!

— Prime, standing over Eris' body, ready to end her life.

One rapier stab into her stomach, putting her on the brink of death. One killing blow, aimed directly at her throat.  

Only Harrison saw her death play out. When the rest of Lumière Éternelle tried to go back and save her after securing the innocents, he was the one to yell to everyone that Eris was dead, rattling them all, especially K'aamni, who so vehemently wanted to stay with Eris to the end. As Prime moved up to try and dispatch the rest of the party, Faessi is the one to strike back at him. Raising his gauntlet, creating purple bolts of forceful magic, he launches them towards Prime, knocking him unconscious for good. Before they could move to secure his body, an umber hulk spots him, and drags him underground to parts unknown. When the fighting ends, the party secures Eris' body, leaving quickly for Verdane to seek out someone who can bring their friend back to life.   On the trip back, Tandi receives a sending from Stephanie. She tells her friend that a messenger is going to meet them soon... and that she's sorry for Eris' death. Tandi tries to demand answers from her, but she gives none. Later, the party is met by said messenger, a half-elven mage named Akasha, who seems to have mind-reading powers, as she senses the grief and despair settling over the party. She introduces herself as a "servant to the darkness within Stephanie", before giving them all a message: a war will happen in the future, and the party must dissuade as many people and guilds from joining the war to avert the disaster that is to come.   When she leaves, the party contacts Stephanie. She reveals that she's trying to protect her party and her mother from the war, and that she can't join them as of this moment. She doesn't seem to be herself, as she says cryptic words before she ends the conversation.  

We are all playing into the cards that Fate dealt us. We will all follow their rules, one way or another.

— Stephanie.

  To see the continuation of this arc, continue to the next article: The Resurrection of Eris Dahraklis

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