Empire Group Session V Report

General Summary

THE EMPIRE GROUP STOPS AT SALONAC

• It takes five hours for the Empire Group's airship to reach the town of Salonac after leaving Dryfang Station. 
• Once docked outside of the town, Doc has the party and ten of the airship crew split up to buy ten days worth of supplies for their journey to Elysia. It is here that Doc meets a baker named Galius who offers to make him enough pies to feed the entire crew.

Ivan Dies Two More Times. Again.

• Ivan walks into the house of Vina Abrilius, a local sage who studies divination and astrology for fun, as she is unable to cast divination magic herself. After practically terrifying her, Ivan uses the Emperor's name to buy a magical staff from her that he immediately spends four hours attuning to. Doc manages to find Ivan and tries to give the staff back to Vina after admitting that Ivan lied about the Emperor paying for it, but Ivan tries to stop him. Doc ends up breaking the staff in half, which causes Ivan's back to snap and kill him once again. This is because once he attuned to the staff, a piece of his own soul was embedded into it.
• Doc apologizes to Vina and gives her 15 gold for the trouble, then throws Ivan's body out of her window so that his body will disintegrate outside. He tells her not to worry and that he will come back in no time. He then goes back to the ship.
• This time, Ivan wakes up as a lizardfolk in what appears to be a mansion with a tailor shop inside. When he looks around the building, he ends up spotting a trio of people who are examining the place in the dark, their backs turned toward him . The trio appears as two Sirens and a Celestial Fae. Right as Ivan is about to speak out to them, his mouth is covered and he is pulled back by someone who whispers into his ear. The person says he doesn't know where he came from, but that he isn't supposed to be here, and swiftly slits his throat.
• Ivan's soul returns to the airship with the Empire Group, where he is now a Mountain Dwarf. Doc quickly has the ship take off from Salonac and continue their journey onward to Elysia.

The Empire Group Kills Ivan

• Doc talks to Ivan privately about how he's been lying, stealing, and endagering people on their journey, as well as not following his orders. Ivan says that he doesn't take orders from anyone, to which Doc threatens to no longer bring Ivan along on the journey any longer. Ivan says if they don't take him on the mission, he'll bring the entire mission down, and starts to melt the airship. Atlas sneaks in and shoots Ivan with a tranquilizer dart, knocking him unconcious. Doc then ties Ivan up and shoves the Ring of Mindshielding he got back in Ledon onto his finger. Doc and Atlas then begin to beat Ivan to death.
• Leo walks in on Doc and Atlas beating Ivan to death. After Ivan is dead and his soul trapped inside of the ring, Doc puts it on and is possessed by Ivan until Leo gets the ring off him. With Doc free, Leo throws both the ring overboard into the desert below.
• Unfortunately, while Doc was still possessed by Ivan, he gave Merlin his pocket watch. Merlin succumbs from the pocket watch's curse, which allows him to see a small white rabbit that speaks to him. The rabbit is actually a piece of Ivan's soul and Merlin is compelled to trust it. The rabbit begins to give Merlin orders to say "I'm back!" The annoyance from the entire situation makes Leo punt Merlin across the room. He throws Ivan's body overboard afterwards.
• The rabbit brings Ivan's notebook to him and the blank pages begin to fill with words written in Abyssal. The notebook is full of information on Ivan's father and many other people he's taken notes on. It also explains what Ivan's cursed magical items do, but only so that Merlin can hear.

"I'm back!" -- Ivan