Episode 20, Fireside Chats

General Summary

Quest	fin	What's up with that?	fin
Delve deeper into the Millich Mines		Big Statue +1
Kill Incandus Carthelian		Pathfinders' Legacy
Chart the Stars		Planeswalkers' Folly
		Chess Pieces
		Arcane wards in the crypt

Clocks

Event	Segments
Andromeda's Nature proficiency (days)	18 of 28
Lorelai's Medicine proficiency (days)	1 of 70

Recap

Lunaris 15 to 17, 3032: Year of Fire

Romance.   The Thunderbirds and Flamebringers shared a campfire for the night, passing around drink and stories, comparing origin stories, scars, and impressive take downs. The Thunderbirds explained that they had been together since the late 3020s, with Athena and Voryx joining after the Thunderbirds had been hired to escort them out of Illemnor by Athena's cousin Elias Valkyrix, the Falkwood's most eligible bachelor.  

Starcrossed Lovers

Andy and Fyn took flight in the form of eagles, dancing amongst the motes of light that make up the Aurora Totalis. In the skies, Fyn explained the theories of the moons to Andy; that Felicitus carries benign, arcane magic, and sings in tune with the Aurora, both gifts of the Muse. Faustus, however, is aligned with the Devil, bearing ill luck and granting power to dark rituals, weakening the Resonance between the Mortal realm and the Devil's Harmonic Sphere so aspects of Hell might bleed into the world.   In return, Andy did their best to describe the stars to Fyn. He was receptive, though the way Andy told the story seemed to get a little more grim-dark and eldritch everytime they explained their visions of the end of the world.   To end the night, Andy dropped Fyn off on his balcony and, standing on the railing to reach, planted a kiss on his forhead. While he blushed, Andy tipped backwards off the railing, to Fyn's shock, but rose again in the starry form of the Dragon, putting the stars in his eyes.  

Enemies to Lovers to Enemies to Lovers

Walking apart from the group to a smaller clearing under Aurora-lit skies, Athena sat Lorelai down to share a drink and catch up, but not before punching her in the boob for assuming her dead without double checking the validity of the letter she received. She explained how Voryx managed to hold off the Black Sun assassins while she escaped, and once the was able to reach Elias in the family estate, together they handled the assassin threat. Voryx, a Sentinel of Illemnor, reconstituted himself and joined the two and together Athena and Voryx joined the Thunderbirds to get out of town.   Overall, Athena isn't too worried about what comes next from the Black Sun. She figures that this was a crime of opportunity, two targets in one place, but at the end of the day, they are just one case on the pile for the syndicate. Lorelai, however, was still a little wary of the impending attempts on their lives, and was considering a new identity. Athena suggested she create a high profile identity; the opposite of Lorelai's current low profile, someone so much in the public eye they could not be removed without an uproar. That idea seemed to agree with Lorelai.   Athena ended the night with a toast: "Lorelai Wyncliff is dead. Long live whoever comes next," and walked Lorelai back to her room, leaving her with a kiss on the cheek.  

Skeletons

As the different partners paired off, Dorian turned to Amara and Ilya to ask if there is anything else he should be made aware of before he joined the party on an excursion into the caves beneath Millich, just in case any of their tails get attached to him as well. They filled him in on the Sun and Moon Assassins, the Winter Court intrigue, and the Black Sun encounters they were aware of, but then turned the question back around on him, asking if he has any enemies that the Omens should be aware of.   His eyes darkened as he spoke of Georgi Aentari, competitor to him in the archeological field. While they are cordial, should they meet in an academic setting, in the field he is nearly certain she has sent mercenaries after him to occupy his dig sites and stolen his research to beat him to a dig at least once. And of course, there are various smuggling rings that would be upset to see him; he has a tendancy to steal artifacts from them to place in museums. But no one who has his name on a hit list.  

And Then There Were Two

Following that conversation, Sapphire left to take a bath in the hot springs and brought Ilya with them. Dorian, Amara, and Junn Qo left them to their fun and walked back to have a night of peace before their journey took them on the road again.  

Breakfast Club

The next morning, before hitting the road, Dorian let the Thunderbirds into the Omens' suite to surprise them by by cooking a continental breakfast of eggs, toast, muffins, various grilled vegetables, and copious amounts of coffee. Bloody Maries available, but enjoyed by Athena and Lorelai the most. As a parting gift, Fyn gave the party a sending stone, so that the two groups can keep in touch.  

Maybe Married

Andy might be married. Their wife went missing five years ago and has not been in touch. Andy still wears the wedding braid, but is not confident that they are still alive, and even so, at what point would a marriage dissolve if you hadn't seen them?  

Wanted

Returning to Millich, the group found that the miners (as in the profession) had turned to carpentry and animal husbandry in the months since abandoning their mine, now the Omens base of operation. At the central bar, a group of them clustered outside while Bukra spoke to a very angry looking orcish warchief. Lorelai went in under the guise of a hobgoblin, and demanded to be served in the middle of this conversation. The Warchief very obtusely ignored her the first time, but the second time turned to her and asked her what her deal is, to which she attempted to disuade him from looking here, claiming that the group he was looking for travelled south to Helorix.   Unfortunately, the tracks to the cart stopped in Millich, and the Warcheif was smart enough to recognize that the group would not have abandoned their cart, and thus is still lying in wait to find out who killed his son in such a dishonorable manner; he doesn't seem to be upset that his son is dead, it is moreso the means of his death he is seeking vengeance for.   After the rest of the party came in once the hulking forms of the orcs left astride gray renders, Bukra discouraged them from aggravating the Tribes of Ucsehir any further; but when has that ever stopped the Omens before?

Notes