Session 63: A Celebration Beyond Dividing Lines

General Summary

• As the Starchaser readies to depart Seaspray Island, Kayl decides it's time to confront Dreadwick and try and encourage some collaborative information sharing by revealing the Janitor's Closet Keyand Souldrink Needle to the Orcs. Dreadwick hedges but does her best to convey allied intentions and friendly relations and mentions some of Silverheim's past and their interactions with the Titanus Ignis and @Windlass. Though she assures Kayl that their method of harvesting soul energy for their engines is more efficient and humane than the Needle. She offers the party 100,000 gold on the spot for the Janitor's Key, but does not press the issue when they decline.

 

• The party's decision is made to head straight to Zandria, stopping only in Toothgap Gap port to resupply, with the hopes to pick up some teleportation to Neo Vaxis, hoping they can find something transportable so they can travel to Moüd and teleport from there once their business in the Necromantic City is concluded.

 

• During the journey Kayl spends the time updating his maps and learning about Neo Vaxis, Lyonesse, and the Western coast from Dreadwick.
  Jalgot the Engineer helps Odila Vallos learn about the Gnomish cultures in Windlass, including that they are consumate sailors, brilliant engineers, and have some long-standing traditions about their face tattoos that she would be wise to avoid trodding upon.
  Bengt Sunwalker spends the time teaching Hyperion VI about Chess (which he takes to masterfully) and how to use a sword (which he struggles with) and realizes that this draconic member of their crew may be a bit more of a brilliant strategist (and quite cutthroat) than he anticipated.

 

• When told Moud is upcoming in the itenerary, Staff of Obrax is pleasantly surprised but happy. Kayl probes SOO further and gets the sense that SOO is not sure if it's even capable of changing or living a life of exploration and perhaps maybe it's place is meant to be at the side of Obrax, even if it means sitting in a Tomb for eternity.

 

• Upon arriving to Toothgap Port the party decides to hang out a bit in the city and enjoy a small respite. Kayl finds a posh winehouse named The Violet's Vine and convinces the Tabaxi Maitr'D to let him perform that evening by claiming to know the renowned Drow bard Dripzt Kobular. The agreement is for half the performance's take, but requires Odila to do some storytelling as well.

 

• Odila spends her time shopping for some new attire to complete her disguise to avoid Koga notice and uses her skills to transform herself into an auburn-haired Gnomish locksmith by the name of Nili Toggledust.

 

• Bengt and Hyperion decide to take in the sights and people watch, and find themselves on the edge of a raucus crowd which they soon discover is due to the current Siegeball match between the rival teams of the Toothgap Terrors and the Freeport Chainbreakers. The kind fellow who fills them in invites them to a side-door where he has an in with a guard and the three partake in the match and by the end of it, get quite invested.
  Bengt, caught up in the celebrations of the win, invites his new friend (who invites a few friends) to The Violet's Vine for drinks on his tab.

 

• At the winehouse, after a tense moment of uncertainty, the Maitr'D lets the group of 20 Hooligans in because, as he says "We're Terrors fans here too" and the odd crowd seems to mix quite well in the atmosphere of celebration and positivity, with loud hooligans sharing drinks and swapping stories with the posh elite.

 

• Kayl performs with SOO a song and dance of dichotomy, a performance of the duality of conflicting forces. After a long silence upon his conclusion, he worries he spoiled the mood, only to look up and see the whole audience—hooligans and high elves alike—in silent tears. Then the uproarious applause thunders. Both halves of the audience are crying and weeping and cheering. And perhaps this type of crowd was the perfect audience for this performance.
  Odila then begins her tale and, attempting to fit the theme of Kayl's performance, begins with a story common to orphans. One of hope in the face of despair, and through her not-quite-masterful-but-still-excellent story of conflict and ups and downs, she ends on a bittersweet moral, "your past does not define you, your future is still unwritten" and though she worries she brought the vibe down a little bit, Jalgot assures her that people will remember her story the next time they experience the emotions of Kayl's performance.

 

• Kayl, unused to this kind of praise for expressing his emotions and art, is a little unsure of what to do with himself. But Ulog 5th of Shields proves to be a perfect gentleman and realizes the cleric's mood and does his best to keep the night afloat.
  Bengt's tab ends up running to 2500 gold pieces, only 1500 of which is recuperated by Kayl's take.

  The evening ends, and as everyone makes their way back to the ship, Hyperion—dwelling on the theme of the night—asks if the meaning behind Kayl and Odila's performances is true. If there really is truth to letting your future be defined by something other than your past. To which Bengt and Kayl both agree, that the world is made up of many shades, and you cannot let yourself be put into a narrow cage by anyone or anything.