Session Eighteen: WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!
General Summary
Silmer and Tatalla Silmer visits Tatalla on the Silver Bird the evening before they depart from Fairhaven to Thaliost. She is a little surprised by the visit but welcomes him in. After exchanging pleasantries, he asks Tatalla how she feels being under an assignment for the crown. She explains that her alliance is only to the House. Mai Yasha wine is an important commodity that they need to start up again soon. Along with the threat of the Comodor Infantil, she is willing to help where she can. But if this ever becomes political or against another House, she might step out. But, for now, having the crown owe her favour is not a bad situation to be in. But she was curious why Silmer was involved at all. He explains that it was mainly due to the fact that Valarie had asked him to protect April. Then Windshire happened, which he would of course help with. And this next mission is still linked to Windshire. However, he’s really struggling with the group. He thinks that they are “weird” and he just doesn’t understand how to talk to most of them. Tatalla says that perhaps he needs to stick around for conversations longer to get to know the group better instead of going to his room. She finds it strange that he barely interacted with Mia, considering that he’s her cousin. He asks Tatalla how she views the group. She goes down the list of people: Nesza: A little confused by him April: Creeps her out a little. Silmer defends her and says she’s very nice, though a bit different. Vence: Seems like a nice guy. Corvus: Doesn’t know much about him but seems trustworthy At the mention of “Mia”, she says that she’s actually a bit worried about her cousin. She asks if Silmer has noticed anything off about her. He didn’t (because he doesn’t speak to her at all). She explains that Mia stayed on the ship a few days ago because someone in the group really upset her. Tatalla then asks him about Malak. What does he know about him? Silmer doesn’t talk with most people so… very little. But he has heard of his daughter. Tatalla smiles and reveals that she actually has seen Myranna. She’s also seen the Silver Bird up close. It flew under the ship. Which is why the ship was renamed the Silver Bird when she inherited it. Silmer asks what it looked like. She tells him that that might be something she’ll tell with more people around. Silmer then mentions that he’s a little unsure what to do in such a big city. It seems like everyone simply goes out and drinks and parties, which is not for him. Tatalla explains that he is in the city of Knowledge. Heck, the airship is docked to a floating university that levitates above Khorvaire’s largest library. If he doesn’t want to “hang out”, perhaps learn something new. Silmer also offhandedly mentions how Vence is able to fool Molly. Tatalla tries to explain that that is not possible but Silmer insists it is…. He tells her that he actually has looked into Tortles recently and has gotten some leads. He gestures at the map of places they’ve been, trying to find tortle tribes and tells her that they should go to either Q’Barra or Adar in Sarlona. Tatalla does not recommend Sarlona as it’s dangerous and very far. Silmer then also mentions that they’ve met someone who knows another Tortle. He’s offered to introduce them. When Tatalla asks who, Silmer says “Elijah”, trying to skirt around her rival House’s last name. But Tatalla recognises the name based on a conversation she had with Nesza not too long ago. So Silmer clarifies. He tells her that he knows that she’s not happy about this. But this might be his one chance to possibly meet another tortle. She begrudgingly agrees for him to meet with Elijah when he is back. And she will go along with him to deliver a message at House Orien, addressed to Elijah. Before he leaves, they talk about Mia one more time. He says that he doesn’t hang with her very often because she’s usually staying with Corrvus. This triggers Tatalla as Mia told her the other day that she slept with Emir. She draws the conclusion that Mia must have been upset because Corvus is her lover and found out that she had an affair with Emir. She tells Silmer to keep an eye on Mia. If she’s upset, ensure that Tatalla knows and she’ll be there to help. When Silmer asks how he’ll know, Tatalla says that Mia will have a drink in her hand and a frowny face. Silmer decides to stay on the ship for the night so that he can help out with everything for the voyage the next day. Visits to the Spire of Knowledge The next day, Mia had an extended brunch and then headed to the Spire of Knowledge. She hands Molly a book that she wrote herself, telling Molly that she notices that things must be boring for her so here’s something new to keep her busy. It’s about an airship that crashes into a sky-iceberg. About a hot blonde half elf guy and a beautiful brunette human woman in a doomed relationship as the ship goes down. Molly doesn’t really respond but Mia is under the impression that she’s satisfied with the gift. Inside the Spire, Mia goes to read up on more smutty books. Corvus and Jurian spend most of the day in the restricted section of the Spire of Knowledge. Vence heads to the Inn from the Spire of Inspiration. He checks at the desk if he has any messages, and is surprised that Almentash is not there but a halfling man. The man says there are no messages. Vence then notices a familiar-looking copper cup on the desk. It looks like it’s there for tips but he hasn’t seen or noticed it there before. He asks the man when that was put there. The man is surprised by the cup and says that doesn’t belong to the inn. He hasn’t seen it before. Vence leaves the Inn with a knowing smile… He then does some shopping and heads to the Spire of Knowledge, to look into some information on the “Eye” imagery from Windshire. Almentash April wakes up early, makes her grandparents breakfast and leaves them a message to thank them and that she loves them. She patched things up with her grandfather the previous night and feels relieved. He hinted at owing Vence and gave her a memnto from his past in the war – a cloack which he hopes will keep her safe. April then goes to check at the Spire of Words whether her father sent her a message. He did, explaining that all is fine, to stay safe and he loves her. She replies with a “Mwa, love April”. She then heads to the Gold Dragon Inn and notices that Almentash is not at the desk but a halfling man. She asks if Almentash is around… The man has no idea who Almentash is….April, a little creeped out, explains that Almentash is a Kaleshtar man who was always behind the desk whenever they were at the Inn, no matter what time of day. The man tells her that: a) This is a House Ghallanda establishment. The House always runs it. Why would there be a Kaleshtar at the desk. b) He always has the morning shift. And his sister, Mary, has the evening shift. It is impossible for someone to ALWAYS be manning the desk at all hours. April is very weirded out, checks with the man who is still around and goes to Malak’s room. Meanwhile, Nesza visits Malak in his room. He tells Malak what he found out at Juliona‘s the day before. That Hawk and his sibling were the only two Aasimar recorded to have halos. And Nesza’s mother has a halo… He also saw in one of the books in the library that Hawk had similar blue eyes and golden hair to Nesza. He concludes that he might be related to Hawk but he’s not completely sure. Malak talks about the statue of Hawk and the visuals that Corvus had shown him. He says, from those elements, that he cannot really make out familial resemblances as the golden hair and blue eyes are also features that Malak has and could just be typical for Aasimar. However, this does trigger Malak and he asks to see Nesza’s map again. Upon investigating it once more, he realises that it’s a map to the statue of Hawk. He and Nesza agree to go there when at Flamekeep. At that moment, April knocks on the door. Once inside, she explains the weirdness around the missing Almentash. Malak sends out his familiar, Myri, to have a look for Amlentash. She comes back after quite a long time of searching with no information. So the three of them head back to the reception. They ask the man behind the desk about Almentash but he insists that he’s never heard of him and that he and his sister have been the hosts the whole time. To test him, April asks what she had for breakfast the day before. He answers correctly. Another Visitor to the Spire Malak decides that he needs to talk to Corvus about this so he heads to the Spire of Knowledge while April and Nesza spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out. At the Spire of Knowledge, Malak asks Molly if Corvus is around and she answers yes, in the restricted section. He goes in and when he’s far enough, he casts “message” to ask to be granted access. Jurian comes to fetch him, happy to be able to see Malak before he leaves, and takes him to Corvus. Malak explains to Corvus about the whole Almentash situation. Corvus, who hasn’t stayed at the Inn, barely remembers who that was and isn’t all too interested. But he suggests to talk with Cissa when everyone is on the airship as she has stronger magic than he does. She might be able to find Almentash. Malak then tells Corvus that there were some things that he didn’t get around to telling him the night before due to his own anguish. He explains to Corvus that he was able to read the ship’s logs of the Tempest during its Voyage over the Mournlands. In short, he found out the below: Everyone on the ship got a Soldier’s Mark. Members of House Jorrasco died of the Sickness. Luscinia managed to get to the Heart of the Spire of Inspiration (what she did there, he does not know). Mia’s Soldier’s Mark disappeared once she got better. The ships log was burned due to sensitive information in an entry that Malak couldn’t recall. It seems that Luscinia’s singing cured her. On the last point, Corvus is surprised. He explains to Malak that Luscinia has no magic in her music, like Corvus. Corvus then sings the two verses of the Flight of the Silver Bird, which greatly interests Malak. He muses that he needs to “speak with someone” soon. Corvus tells Malak the full extent of the feather. That it represented his father. He also addressed the point of the night before that Malak also did not really respond to him talking about finding out that his father was dead. Malak apologises, saying it’s no excuse but his state of mind just was so distracted to fully process it. He suggests to do a ceremony in commemoration of Svecica. Corvus says that’s not necessary but thanks Malak for the thought. With that, Corvus and Jurian say their goodbyes. Jurian also greets Malak. April and Nesza While taking th market route, April asks Nesza how he manages to stay low (refering to him hiding his Asimar traits). He explains how his further taught him to focus on certain elements you want to tweak, like wrinkles and hair colour. He doesn’t tend to go large scale so he can maintain it better – just hiding the parts that get him bullied. Aril gets a bit angry at the thought, but Nesza calms her down. It’s normal fr him. He explains how the Soldiers mark got people worked up too. He was used to people not wanting to get to know him better. At the mention of the mark, April rubs the back of her head and stops him for a moment, apologising for judging him on it when they first met. Having even gone so far as to lie with an answer to a question he gave her. She was just used to the mark being a bad sign. Nesza nods and says he understands, ushering them on. H explains that war is a bad thing in itself. And then afterwards soldiers just get left behind. What do they do then? In Apri’s case, the soldiers she knew might have abused their power. Nesza wants to help people though. People forced him to commit sometimes horrible acts. He’awar that sometimes his body still responds, training just kicking in and just doing without thinking. The reason for the hiding question is because April herself wants to lie low. She explains that she often feels looked down on by others for her age or accent. Nesza explains that he finds it intriguing. he believes that everyone should just trst each other more and that issues such as those she’s facing, should be said in the open. H’s been thinking of starting up such a conversation but is unsure when. April interprits her conversation with Corvus (where you learn if you fail, that’s OK), to mean that if you think it’s worth a go…then go for it. She lets him know that if he starts the conversation up, she will promptly follow his lead. The rest of the conversation is a comparison of magic versus potions. And everyone heads up to the airship Silver Bird. Boarding The last one to board the ship is Cissa, who looks COMPLETELY different. She’s wearing makeup, a dress (although there are some slits cut on the side that are slightly too high and her shorts are peaking out from under), a billowing purple cloak with a Silver Flame pin, two swords sheathed to her belt and her hair is in a neat bob, the braid is braided over her head like a headband. She looks pretty uncomfortable with the whole ordeal. Most of the group approve of this new look but she’s obviously not happy with it. When asked why she’s dressed up if she doesn’t like to, she explains that they are going to Thrane. Thrane is known for its people being very closed minded to different cultures. As she is quite well known in Thrane, it might help them if someone “recognizable” hangs with their motley crew. She does express concerns for Silmer though. To which Corvus explains that he got him a hat of disguise to ensure he can fit in too. Silmer tries his hat out, creating George‘s likeness. It REALLY confuses George. Then Silmer puts his head on George’s body, scaring George away completely. As Corvus shows Cissa to the common area where she can drop her things, Vence asks Mia for a word somewhere private. Mia shows Vence to the larder. She explains that “people may get the wrong idea” if they talk there, so naturally they both go in. However, Mia is always being followed by a buff elf on the ship in case she tries to commandeer the ship (again). She somehow manages to convince this guy to “get her wine”. What Happens in the Larder, Stays in the Larder In the larder, Vence asks Mia why she had consistently disappeared on him when they had promised to go out drinking together. Mia apologises and goes through a run down of the last few days and why she wasn’t available (also mentioning her evening with Cissa and Emir). Vence then tells Mia that he’s not going to give her a hard time because he really needs to tell her something. He pulls out a bottle of whiskey and opens it. He tells her that she can choose to share it with him, down it herself, allow him to down it or leave with/without it. He asks Mia about whether or not she feels that Molly can be “fooled”. Mia gushes about Molly for a bit (and seems totally convinced Molly can joke around/be fooled). He then explains that, although everyone calls him the “mediocre bard”, he’s actually a very good bard. As he says that, he shifts into Emir. Mia takes a few large gulps from the whiskey. Emir then shows his arm and shifts it to show tattoos, a Soldier’s Mark, Dragon Marks etc. Mia then gives him the bottle to get a few sips, and tells him that that is…. THE COOLEST THING SHE HAS EVER SEEN. Emir even shifts into Mia for a moment, saying they could be “twinsies” some time. He explains to Mia that his shifting is a very sensitive subject and he would appreciate if she’d not tell anyone. She agrees. He also explains that he and Cissa are together, to which Mia says she had already suspected that. The two have some more whiskey together before Emir shift back into Vence. Mia looks around the larder and says that it wouldn’t be any fun if they didn’t create gossip from this chat. So she takes some flour from one of the sacks and throws it on Vence and her self, making her hair slightly messy. Vence shifts his own hair to look disheveled and the two leave the larder. The Traveler Back in the common area, Malak, April, Silmer and Nesza join Corvus and Cissa. The group explain to Cissa about the whole matter around Almentash and ask if there is something she can do to help. Cissa mentions that she can scry… but realises she needs a certain something to do that. She messages Vence and asks for him to bring her viol. Vence and Mia head to the group and Vence hands it to Cissa. (Corvus notices them covered in flour but does not comment). Nesza also has a note that Almentash wrote, which could help amplify the spell. As Cissa starts to scry, the group fill Mia and Vence in with what is going on with Almentash. Vence says that he suspects the hand of the Traveler being at work here. He explains that there is a shrine in Fairhaven that is usually not noticed. With a copper cup at its base. He links this cup with the one at the Gold Dragon Inn. Corvus seems to find this conversation dull and decides to go pay Tatalla a visit in her quarters. Cissa, in the meantime, cannot find any trace of Almentash. She explains that people can reject the spell or a magical item or field can prevent her from seeing the person. But then she will sense that the spell failed. Now, however, it simply feels like she was searching for air… she felt absolutely nothing. The group decide to drop the hunt for now. Vence is all the more convinced of who they actually met. He talks about the Traveler in more detail, with Cissa chiming in to add details. April then asks Cissa if she’s able to scry on her mother. Cissa says she’ll try, using April’s goggles. She then turns to ask Vence something but accidentally calls him Emir… WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?! Malak, having already been a little suspicious on why Cissa and Vence were suddenly friends (when she didn’t know his name a few days ago), why Vence has her viol when Emir had it the night before and the paranoia around a possible spy being around them who suddenly disappeared (Almentash was there for a lot of personal conversations), marches out to go after Corvus. In her office, Tatalla asks Corvus about his relationship with Mia. In a roundabout-Corvus-way, he explains that Mia stays in his room, yes. But she stayed with Emir and “another” recently. Saying: “And who can blame her? Emir is an attractive man”, which really confuses Tatalla (there were FOUR and Corvus’ sights were on Emir????) Tatalla decides not to dig further into that hole…. Corvus explains his concerns about Mia and wonders if Tatalla would be able to help him. He asks if she knew anything about Mia’s father (she didn’t) and explains that in the family genealogy that he is unknown. This freaks Tatalla out… a lot. And tells Corvus that she doesn’t want anything to do with that. Corvus then asks if she can simply help him talk to Mia. Because he is worried about her and doesn’t really know how to approach her. Seeing as she’s had a similar feeling, she (begrudgingly) says she’ll try to help. It’s at this moment that Malak enters the room and tells Corvus that it seems Vence and Emir are the same person. This ticks Tatalla off (in combination with all the other drama being presented) so she marches to the common room to confront the group. Corvus and Malak follow her. Tatalla storms into the middle of the room as Cissa is about to scry on Valarie and yells “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!” She points to Vence, “Apparently you’re Emir?!” and starts to point at different characters, demanding to know WHO they are (with the exception of Silmer). Malak chimes in, saying that he found it strange how Cissa and Vence are suddenly friends when she didn’t know his name three days ago. The group is stunned into silence for a moment. Tatalla demands from Vence to tell her who he is. And he simply answers with with “No”. Let’s All Put Our Cards on the Table Nesza takes the opportunity to finally get the group to open up as he reviously suggested. He explains that, perhaps it’s naive of him to think this, but for the group to become cohesive, they should put their cards on the table. He starts, saying “I’m Nesza and”… He explains that he is a fallen Aasimar from the Eldeen Reaches who is looking for his light and hopes to prevent the Comedor Infantil being released. April chimes in “I’m April and…” She explains that her mum’s been kidnapped and her village has seen better days. She has grandparents now and her dad’s doing good at least. Corvus sits on the bed. He says that he did not know his parents until a week ago and found out two days ago that his father died 145 years ago. He mentions he is currently keeping a secret because the love of his life is being held as a bargaining chip. There is more but that can be discussed later. Upon hearing the reference to Jurian, Malak goes into a rage, yelling “THAT’S WHY YOU’RE KEEPING THIS A SECRET?!” and releases his Radiant Consumption. Luckily no one was nearby to get hurt (other than himself). Everyone was so stuck in their own problems that they hardly noticed he was doing this. Vence is pissed off at at Corvus and Malak. Cissa opens up. She admits to being in love with Emir. And had recently became friends with Vence (looking very annoyed at Malak accusing her of being suspicious). She then also briefly explains her involvement in the Lighting of the Torch. To which Nesza goes “this might be an odd moment to bring this up but I might be related to Hawk and I wanted to talk to you about it”. He talks about his mother perhaps being Hawk’s sister and how he might refer to Hawk as “uncle Hawk” from now on. This breaks Cissa and she leaves the room. Corvus follows her. Malak calms down and opens up. He tells the (remaining) group about Myranna having the Sickness. That she is currently in stasis and that he’s trying to find the cure. He then leaves to go on deck. Vence is fuming. He rants that he’s underappreciated for his efforts and he’s being treated as second rate or poorly. He mentions giving up a massive payday to help protect George, helping save April’s grandpa and 5 Warforged. He also exclaims that he did not do any of these things for money. Silmer and Nesza explain to Vence that these are all noble things that he did. But no one knew about any of these points because Vence never told anyone. So they cannot be judged for that. Vence, still fuming, says “now if you excuse me I have important things to do”, shifts into Emir in full view of the group and runs after Cissa. Storms on Deck On deck, Corvus is trying to console Cissa. She’s very upset about the information about Hawk. She didn’t know that he had a family. And next to that, she’s very concerned that Emir will never forgive her for what just happened. Corvus uses Prestidigitation to clean her up and tries to calm her down. Emir joins them (surprising Cissa) and he and Corvus instantly butt heads. He accuses Corvus for outing him after he not-too-subtly implied that Emir was threatening Jurian. Corvus, on the other hand, believes that Emir is threatening Jurian based on previous conversations. As Emir forbade him to look into what he is, Corvus is under the impression that he is simply protecting Emir’s alter ego (whom he changes into with make up… he actually did not know Emir is a changeling), which Corvus thinks is not an equal power balance to him needing to protect his love. The conversation gets so heated that Emir asks Cissa to cast Zone of Truth so that they could clear the air. Corvus asks Emir, if he had ever broken his promise to keep Emir’s secret, would Jurian have been in danger from him or Vence. Emir couldn’t answer that question. Emir asks Corvus whether he thinks that his life is worth nothing. Corvus tells Emir that “his existence is an inconvenience to him and if Emir would suddenly be in trouble, Corvus would just let him die”. Emir tries to explain to Corvus about the persecution he could possibly face, which is why he cannot just tell anyone. At one point, Cissa gets fed up with their circular fight and walks away. Emir tries to follow her but Corvus tries to hold him back, telling him to give her some space and a fight nearly breaks out. Cissa comes back and stands between them, telling them both to calm the fuck down. Emir can join her. She just doesn’t want to be around this argument anymore. As a last bout of frustration, Corvus threatens Emir that he will end the trail if Emir ever hurts Jurian. Corvus storms off to the common room area. Cissa and Emir walk on deck, trying to cool down. Malak, who has been on deck as well, approaches Cissa and asks her if she wants some time alone (implying that he’d cast invisibility on her). She rejects the offer, saying she’s fine. She also tells him that, if he wants help Myri, he’d better go talk to Corvus because if the trail is ended, Myri cannot be saved. Malak casts invisibility on himself and heads back to the common room. Emir calls after him, saying they still need to talk later. Emir and Cissa go and sit on deck together, embracing each other. Cissa apologises for her mistake and wonders in despair why everything always happens all at once. Emir tries to make her feel a bit better, telling her that “at least they can be together in the open now”. Not an Excuse but there is an Explanation Back in the common room area, Mia confronts Nesza about telling everyone to open up. She tells him that not everyone deserves to just know everything about her. It’s her choice to make and everything that she’s comfortable with sharing with the group, she has already done. If the group keeps pushing her like this, she will leave them after the mission in Thaliost. She leaves to go drinking somewhere in the ship. April follows her. Malak, still invisible, enters the common room and puts two scrolls on Mia’s bed. He then exits the room, removes invisibility and walks back in, fooling no one (both Silmer and Nesza heard Malak’s footsteps, saw the scrolls suddenly appear and Malak nonchalantly walk in seconds later). He sits next to Corvus, who just entered moments ago. Malak explains to Corvus that Emir is a changeling and gives Corvus some background information. He says he doesn’t agree with what Emir/Vence did, but they had a valid reason to wish to conceal themselves. He explains how changelings are persecuted simply for being born and gives some examples on what could happen to him. This seems to get through to Corvus. Tatalla is sitting by Silmer, trying her utmost to do her breathing exercises with his guidance. Failing. But she realises she needs to snap out of it. She addresses the group in the room that she still needs to brief them about the mission and they need to sort things out before turning in for the night. Malak and Corvus decide to go to talk with Emir and Cissa again. Nesza decides to go get Mia. Don’t Drink April’s Soup Meanwhile, Mia is drinking a poor buff elf escort under the table. April joins her, and tries to help the poor half elf by giving him some soup. The guy throws up and it gets all the alcohol out of his system. He passes out. Mia and April share a few drinks together. Topics shared included life in Stormhome and neither being a fan of House Cannith. “Is it a house rivalry thing?” April asks. Mia explains: “We hired them to help us make airships and now they try and claim a lingering monetary claim on them! Like no?” They also kept stealing artificers. April explains that she already had a plan for if she was approched – a plan which would make it difficult for whoever wanted her. Mia giggles in glee at she is told, even adding a few touches of her own. April also asks how an artificer would even go about helping to make an airship. Mia explains: “There’s a fine balance of magic and moving parts needed to both build them and keep them flying safely. Artificers are really helpful there.” It makes April wonder if she could help make one too one day. They keep drinking, talking about why Mia left home and how she’s travelled about versus April being on her first real venture seeing the rest of the world. They even discuss mums and what they would do were they to see them again. Then April asks Mia how she feels. Mia expresses that she feels betrayed and frustrated with the group. That she even questions her friendship with Corvus at this point. April touches on her own relationship with Silmer. That she hasn’t been able to talk much to him and that while she was content never to push for information, the revelation of Tatalla made her think how much of his life Silmer really did hide from her. Mia herself wonders whether Silmer has just relaxed and hung out properly. April gives her the sample of the “Good Stuff” that Almentash gave her two days before. Mia drinks it gratefully. In a slightly inhebriated state – especially April – the two decide to look for Silmer to… well… they weren’t sure yet. The Vow Malak and Corvus find Cissa and Emir. They ask them to join for Tatalla’s briefing and to clear the air with the group. They both get up to join. Corvus then stops them for a moment and tells Emir that he had no idea what he must have gone through as a changeling. That Malak explained about the maiming, magical tattoos and other harm that has been done to them. Emir shifts to look like the different party members and then shifts into a maimed changeling to emphasise the point. Actions are not forgiven but are now better understood by Malak and Corvus. Corvus tells Emir that Jurian needs to hide his true self for similar reasons and Corvus cannot stand to have others go through that same struggle. He makes a new vow here. One that does not reap any benefit for Corvus. He vows that, as long as Emir lives, Corvus will stand by him and ensure that he and his kind will not suffer such prosecution. He holds out his hand to Emir. However, instead of taking it, Emir starts to argue again on what Corvus has done in the past few weeks and how he has wronged both him and Vence. Malak steps in and tells Emir that everyone in the party made mistakes. Vence/Emir also wronged people. Hurt people. Put people in danger. Emir does not ever seem to acknowledge that. Emir touches Corvus’ hand and starts to walk away when Cissa holds him back, asking him why he’s not accepting the olive branch. People are trying to help him. So Emir goes back and properly shakes Corvus’ hand. They all leave to go below deck for the briefing.
