Session 18
Downtime Well Spent
Section titled “Downtime Well Spent”The Fated Eight enjoyed their first real reprieve from the action since Lady’s death a few days ago. The group split up to handle various personal goals; with smaller groups coming together naturally to help each other where possible.
The Fated Eight received some rewards from Thelnyron Dose - including an invitation to a ball happening on the night of High Quarterfest; the celebration of the end of the first season of the year, hosted by the Beck Family at their estate in Castletown. Each of The Fated Eight were advised by Thelnyron they should inquire a tailor for more appropriate attire - recommending Layla Cross or Goren Thimble as the two most well known tailors in the city.
Lady began to work on her calligraphy in Cynthia’s abode, whilst Graxious visited an underground bathhouse &Axton took a day off to relax and smoke a pipe. SHAI undertook some research at the Veiled Visage University library whilst Jin visited Commander Dae’hya to inquire about a traineeship with the Storm Corps.
Morgyn & Somnus were preoccupied with the former’s study at The Cloaked Cathedral. Aurevald & Scabb departed Roan without a word - it is unclear what the Goliath Warlock needed to do or where he went.
Jin spent much of this day learning the ropes of the city watch by a veteran member of the Storm Corps. The Human Fighter was able to gleam much from the wisdom of this mentor before retiring for dinner and a long rest after the watch was complete. He spent a little time at night reading through a journal given to him by Dae’hya.
Lady on the other hand continued her calligraphy as it began to take shape, with her focus being on her father - Ignis Snowblood - and the bracers that she now wears. She focused on the powers that flowed through her on the day of her rebirth and on the liminal space she occupied whilst floating between life and death. The result was a beautiful piece of artwork that showed the full power of the element of fire that centred around the word Ignis. She gained an understanding that over the long Snowblood Family lineage - various members have had affinities for each of the Primoridal elements.
She continued with calligraphy for the rest of the evening; attempting to focus on the shadowy figure that had mysteriously taken the place of Jin a few days ago, but wasn’t able to gleam as much from this endeavour.
Jin undertook his first watch alone on this day; taking in the city-wide restoration efforts to reverse the damage done by the recent bandit incursion. The day was otherwise uneventful and he followed his routine from the previous night - eager for his first day of private tutelage by Dae’hya.
Graxious took some time to find a vendor in the city who sold a Lute and purchased one without too much hassle. The Leonin male spent much of the day reading a book bought from The Sanguine Script and practicing the instrument. He returned to Cynthia’s abode to find SHAI and Lady finishing a conversation. Graxious continued to play the lute whilst the others returned to their personal activities. The combined creative inspiration between the three of them led to a calligraphic artwork of The Fated Eight and the basis of a song for each of them.
Morgyn completed her First Communion in the early hours of the morning - leading The Fated Eight to realize that Aurevald & Scabb were nowhere to be seen. Slightly upset but understanding it was likely for important reason, Morgyn hoped to speak with Aurevald about this departure if and where he returned.
Jin left shortly after the completion of the communion and began his training with Commander Dae’hya. The Half-Elf Commander immediately identified areas of Jin’s fighting technique that were inefficient. The pair returned to first principles training as the Human Fighter was pushed to the edge of exhaustion perfecting the most basic of swings - with each mistake resulting in a corrective swing from a training blade by Dae’hya. The pair shared dinner together where Jin formally introduced himself as Ryujin Cheon to his new mentor - seemingly getting some recognition from Dae’hya.
“Cheon you say? Is that of any relation to Raijin Cheon perhaps?”
- Dae’hya’s inquisition about Jin’s surname…
During the same day - Lady, Graxious, and SHAI each went to order attire from Layla Cross. She was a chaotic but clearly very talented tailor in the city - but seemed to be very much driven by passion projects. Each of three made their requests and were able to secure their outfits in time for the ball.
Graxious requested an outfit that paid homage to his home whilst still being formal. Layla’s was enthralled with the concept and styled the Leonin Male in a classic white dress shirt paired with a pine green vest and trousers made of a deep black silk. The star of the show was the dark green tailcoat with a tasteful amount gold trim and embroidery.
Lady took some time to reflect on her aesthetic before struggling to decide between two concepts in her head. Layla’s genius was apparent when she confirmed that she could make an outfit that could shift from one design to the other at a point of Lady’s choosing. The initial state of the outfit would be feature a wide yet supported base made of a deep red material, whilst the upper half would be made of woven black material. Long sleeves would cover her arms as the dress stopped at the upper third of her torso to expose her shoulders. The second state would transform the dress into a naturally flowy material and hang from the shoulders instead - with a deeper slit that continued down to the lower third of her torso. The showpiece here were the large winglike decorations that would appear from each side of the dress. Layla was smitten with the design and made sure that the real thing would accentuate Lady’s natural beauty.
SHAI’s attire is a formal green & gold 3 piece suit. Layla Cross was able to leverage the same
Jin completed a second day of training where he was once again put through rigorous exercises to unlearn a collection of bad habits from his youth. He was able to push through near-exhaustion numerous times that allowed him to understand the lesson that Dae’hya was attempting to teach him. Towards the end of the day - Jin began to execute the effortless and efficient transfer of momentum from each of his strikes. The teacher & student shared dinner once more and discussed parts of their life stories.
During the same day, Morgyn completed their second day of volunteer work at The Cloaked Cathedral - an implicit expectation of having completed their First Communion. During one such confession, a familiar figure entered with an older gentleman wearing a brown coat.
Lukhas Tophat re-introduced himself and Sir Layton Riddle to Sophia, but was careful as to not rouse suspicion from any unwanted ears. Not much was discussed but Sophia was given a token and a passphrase should they want more information about the corruption spreading through the Vaena Kingdom at present.
Morgyn and Axton each went to order their attire - with Morgyn visiting Layla Cross and Axton visiting Goren Thimble.
Layla Cross eyes lit up at the prospect of making an outfit that suited each of Morgyn’s physical appearances & overall aesthetic wishes, and began working on a design right away. Morgyn wished not to stand out so much - for obvious reasons - and Layla obliged - presenting her with formal robes made of grey and black fabrics. Simple but formal black pants and leather boots matched perfectly to make an understated but classy attire that complimented each of Morgyn’s appearances well.
Axton had heard that Goren Thimble was a quite rude and brash tailor, but something about the Tiefling’s demeanour was endearing to the Elvish male who was more than willing to provide and alter a suit for him. The overall design was simple but elegant - focusing on blacks and reds mostly. A white dress shirt adorned with a classic waistcoat paired nicely with black trousers and brown leather shoes. Goren heavily customised the jacket in order to meet a more gothic design language - with long flowy coat tails and a deep red interior lining. Axton was quite pleased with the design and rewarded Goren Thimble with tip for the service.
Axton was then invited by SHAI to visit Veiled Visage University to study in the library - where the pair shared an appreciation of Arcane Magic overall, learning from each others’ fields of expertise.
Jin completed the third and final day of training with Commander Dae’hya - where the pair sparred for hours on end before Jin was finally able to land a blow on the Half-Elf Commander just as the training was due to the conclude. The pair shared a final dinner together and Dae’hya admitted he was very pleased with Jin’s progress over the past 3 days - with the promise of potentially useful information in the future.
A largely uneventful day for much of The Fated Eight with most of them taking rest or making preparations for future adventures. Morgyn spent much of this day completing a batch of Potions of Healing that had been brewing for a day or so.
During Jin’s first night watch - the Human Fighter noticed a sudden commotion from the main gate of the city as a carriage was rushed through before meeting with Civil Corps members. He inquired about it the following morning but was unable to get any information about the event at present.
Reunited & Rewarded
Section titled “Reunited & Rewarded”On the morning of the 23rd of Vaelorn - Aurevald returned to Roan in the early hours before waiting at Veiled Visage University for the rest of The Fated Eight to show up. The others arrived hours later and the eight party members were in the same location for the first time in a week. Lady; along with some of the others, voiced a concern with their friends’ lack-of-communication whilst others understood the Goliath’s need for privacy.
Thelnyron Dose greeted them briefly and escorted them to Castle Roan where they met with High Governor Hellum Finsk and his assistants. He personally thanked them for their heroism and requested their reward be brought in - as a hulking Goliath figure brought in an ornate chest and placed it between themselves and Hellum Finsk.
The chest revealed 8150 gold pieces to be split between them all - leaving many of The Fated Eight shocked with the large sum of gold. The each briefly discussed what they planned to spend the gold on before Jin had to return to Storm Corps HQ for sleep - as he had his final night shift.
One Final Watch
Section titled “One Final Watch”Jin awoke from his rest and began his routine before heading atop the walls of Roan and beginning his final watch as a voluntary member of the Storm Corps.
A Sudden Storm
Section titled “A Sudden Storm”The weather had been relatively clear for much of the past week - but that changed when a storm built without warning. Amidst the thunder and lightning - Jin noticed a bolt hit close to The Double-Edged Deal and damage the building - being in his area of watch for the night; he sprung down to check for injuries or incursion.
Jin arrived minutes after the bolt struck and saw a familiar, masked man leaving The Double-Edged Deal with an unfinished sword in his hand. Jin was mostly able to dodge the figure’s attacks but was unable to keep up with the lightning fast speed at which he moved.
The man shared some parting words - hinting at a connection to Jin’s past - as Jin launched his weapon at the figure - missing his body but clipping some affects off of the figure’s waist. Jin searched around for an evidence of who the man was and only found these affects.
A Familiar Emblem
Section titled “A Familiar Emblem”The two metal emblems; one with a deep purple hue and the other a dull red one, seemed oddly familiar to Jin in this moment - with the purple one almost calling to him. He stashed them in his cloak pocket and investigated the damage the The Double-Edged Deal - which thankfully seemed mostly cosmetic.
He spoke with Earl - the owner of The Double-Edged Deal - who had been woken up due to the commotion. He confirmed that the intruder had stolen the in-progress blade that Jin had commissioned earlier in the week. Jin was understanding and began to consider his options to find a new blade. He thought once more on the emblems he had found as he recalled seeing his Uncle; Master Hwan, use something similar whilst forging weapons to create incredibly ornate and powerful blades.
Reforged
Section titled “Reforged”With the assistance of Earl - Jin used the forges of The Double-Edged Deal to reforge the greatsword he had purchased from Graxious. When the final stage of forming began, he placed the purple-hued emblem onto the blade and continued forming the blade - working fragments of the emblem into the malleable steel. As the blade was cooled - arcane energy crackled around it and began to transform it into an ornate greatsword.
Jin intrinsically understood this blade had innate magical properties and realized it seemed perfectly weighted in his hand. Earl was shocked at the craftsmanship of his customer and admired the delicate wave pattern that adorned the cross-guard and hilt. As Jin wielded the weapon another time - he heard a mysterious & wizened voice enter his mind before introducing itself as Watatsumi. Jin did not pay too much mind to this entity however as he realized he should get back to his watch - sheathing the blade and exiting The Double-Edged Deal.
Jin’s Best Friend
Section titled “Jin’s Best Friend”Before he was able to return to the wall however, Jin’s attention was captured by a familiar woman - Sabrynthia Coppertent - standing in a nearby alleyway. Jin was confused by her appearance her; as she was supposed to be in Zenytha, and also her very affectionate demeanour. The Human Fighter was even further confused when Sabrynthia Coppertent moved in for a kiss - before her face shifted into that of Graxious.
Jin realized in that moment that he had been pranked by SHAI using Illusion Magic. He was unimpressed and returned to his watch before having a meal by himself. As he left - Storm Corps HQ - Dae’hya caught up with him and escorted Jin to see Garhys Steele once more.
Garhys Steele also took intrigue at Jin’s full name and offered the Human Fighter a token, as well as passphrase should he wish to learn more about his past.
Before departing, Dae’hya also discretely conveyed to Jin the truth of the commotion at the city gates a few nights ago. Jin returned to Cynthia’s abode for a well earned rest on the morning of the 24th of Vaelorn, 920 PD. He got a few hours of sleep before being awoken by the others.
Somnus’ Farewell
Section titled “Somnus’ Farewell”Somnus; having had their sight restored by Sophia & completing their task from The Fate-Cloaked Maiden to restore the perversions of Fate affecting The Party, saw fit to move onto their next mission for The Maiden. The Cleric left without warning during the early morning of the 24th of Vaelorn, 920 PD - only leaving their Bag Of Holding on a table in Cynthia’s abode containing letters for each of The Fated Eight.
The session closed on the party reading these letters aloud…