Loss and Longing

Begin writing your story here...Heading back to Camellia's, Connie briefly dips into a shoppe on the southern side of the inner city, purchasing two wax bags of those same candied oranges before re-joining the party. Sidna walks through the gate to Inner Fairbank as though she owns the place and guides everyone swiftly to the house.
 
Inside, Schwartz is impressed by Connie's manners and Sidna sends him off to get refreshments while Sidna heads upstairs to check on Camellia, leaving the rest of the party behind in a guest room. There, Connie and Zeal engage in a thrilling discovery of Connie's privilege and upbringing, though even those antics aren't enough to draw Serafina from the deep turmoil in her head.
 
Upstairs, Sidna finds Camellia playing harpsichord and quietly watches her finish; spooking her when she turns around. She has been reading Sidna's journal, and is awestruck at the dragon, and Sidna affirms her oath as well as commenting on the talking mushrooms she was certain would have been Camellia's interest.
 
As Sidna mentions that they have guests for the evening, Camellia got excited and bade her retrieve them, which she happily did. After making sure everyone washed up before going in, the party entered to meet the lady of the house. She noted Connie was new and curtseyed as he bowed back at her in his normal, delightful tone. She looked at him with a piercing stare and said he didn't have to pretend while he was there. He was so taken aback by this that he introduced himself again with his orcish name - causing much upset with Serafina, who hadn't heard it before.
 
The party sat and when Vorach produced his candied fruits and handed them over, Sidna quickly had to hide Vorach's gift before Camellia could eat them all. Serafina, likewise, clutched hers to her chest as Camellia asked for any tales that Vorach had and he asked what type of story she would like, that he mostly knew tragedies. She insisted, and so he offered up his tragic tale, including the story of how his mother and father met. At the end of it all, there was some shocked silence before Camellia moved to embrace him and tell him it was okay - he didn't have to be strong here. Vorach wept. Sidna set in stony silence, covering her mouth defencively to hide her emotions as she looked into the distance, with Zeal mostly unphased while Serafina seemed likewise shellshocked.
 
After such serious conversation, we decided to lighten the mood with song; Sidna and Vorach beginning to sing an old orcish drinking song 'The Hunter Who Stalked the Wolf' after much pleading, Serafina joining along with her flute in a stunning rendition that blew Camellia away. With spirits much higher, Vorach asked for and was shown to a small kitchenette by Sidna, the two began to cook a small dinner together. Partway through, Vorach quietly spoke in Anuic, confessing his burden of conscience in that he was a kinslayer. Sidna listened to his explanation, and offered him a gentle rebuttal, but he told her that only his chief (his mother) could pass judgement, and he wasn't sure he was able to continue on to find her anymore.
 
Despite the dour talk, the party had a lovely dinner with Camellia getting her delightful carb overload in the form of a hearty vegetarian lasagne with some delightfully creamy mac n' cheese. As Sidna takes care of the dishes and Camellia gets through the Itis, Serafina and Vorach sit and quietly talk, the latter asking the former if they are okay.
 
Serafina and Vorach bond over their shared experience of losing a heavy burden suddenly, and feeling hollow for it; him assuring them that at the very least, he was there for them. He also told her he thought Adrian was a total bitch because he was a wizard, which makes him a scrawny nerd. This touched Serafina, and when Vorach asked if they would like some space to breathe, they asked instead if he wouldn't mind just sitting there with them, which he happily obliged to.
 
After being let out of the room, Zeal went to the library whilst Serafina and Connie were shown to guest rooms. Though he studied voraciously, he couldn't find anything that helped him and decided to head out for a night of drinking before shooting a message to his friend Gio requesting advice, companionship, and a drink.
 

Downtime activities ---

Zeal delivers his letters! One of them offers him a little extra gratitude and tips him a silver! He meets with Gio and learns how to cast a new spell with a "beautiful" metaphor: you don't shit it all out at once, you squeeze it out a little at a time. Zeal then asks for helping trying to figure out what the fuck is up with Echo, and while Gio warns that he should be careful because it's a different type of magic than he is able to readily work with. Zeal attempts to summon Echo and intentionally fails the wisdom save associated, and in the back of his mind he feels a dull ache; as though someone were struggling to break free and were incredibly weak. The realisation that there are two souls in his body is a breakthrough for Zeal, and as he relays this to Gio the other man offers a strong opinion: if there's a soul in his body that isn't his, he should get rid of it. After more discussion, Zeal was told to head to a nearby magic shop before leaving the city and to tell them that Gio sent them, the "stuck-up" guy who works there would be more open.
 
Doing more research, 5 years ago the war between Roveria and the Clanlands. In the back was a comprehensive list of deaths, and Zeal saw Wisteria Redmark (not dead) listed as the commander of a battalion of mostly casualties. This war is where High Clanlord Fjor rose to power. No mention whatsoever of the Winter Queen in these books he can find, though.
 
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Connie and Serafina head out to their reservation at a restaurant called Zoppa, sharing a lovely afternoon and discussing their upbringing; Connie asking about her siblings and Sera asking about his hometown. They share a chicken gnocchi order, with a special dessert being special ordered from the same restuarant where he got the chocolate oranges: a chocolate chess pie! Over dessert, the two discussed Serafina's future, with Connie acknowledging that he thought she should have hope - with them able to convince one person of her innocence who was dead-set on killing her, perhaps they'd have an easier time of it in the future! He spun a fanciful story of meeting her family and getting to see wehre she grew up, and a flustered Serafina confessed that most of the people she turned into were dead. Though she expected Connie to be upset by this, she was momentarily stunned thinking he was some sort of necrophiliac, though it turned out he was just poorly explaining he thought it was better to not be talking to a mirror of someone he might run into in the future.
 
Seeming touched, Serafina happily accompanied Connie on a small errand after their meal, heading up towards the gap to look for a member of Connie's village. Unfortunately, though they were able to find Nathanael without much issue, there was another person in the hovel in which he was staying: a robed figure whose most defining feature was the porcelain mask (white, slit, decorated with a yellow swirl). This is, in fact, the same member of the Path of the Last Journey (super hospice/make-a-wish) they had already seen in the fishing hamlet. Connie, struck speechless, stammered an apology and assured they'd meet again later.
 
A little less cheerful, Connie explained to Sera on the way back that that he was unfortuantely familiar with the Path, because he'd been terminally ill for several years and they'd lingered on the periphery of his life during that time.
 
Though they separated back home, Connie was soon found by Sidna for afternoon training just as Camellia brought Serafina for an equally important task: watching the orcs training. Though Connie gave his all and was clearly familiar with the motions, his body's decomposition underneath the surface was too much to repair in a short amount of time, no matter how good the training.
 
After serious conversation and discussion, Connie said that he had made a choice: to stay behind with Camellia and continue training while researching things for the party and attempting to gather resources and support to make sure they always had a safe home to return to. Of course, he would also be certain that Camellia would always have a close friend nearby who didn't treat her like a pitiful wastrel. Of course, it was not just their decision.
 
Sidna took Connie to talk with Camellia, who listened to his reasoning and logistics before happily enthusing she'd be delighted to have a friend with her, and she happily accepted Connie's offer of companionship (Sidna even gave him a proper badge!). With that being decided, Connie told both Zeal and Serafina of his decision. The former appeared somewhat stunned for a moment before continuing on as normal, though there was a definite hint of pride and sadness in his voice. Serafina, however, had her world rocked - no sooner had the kindest guy she'd ever known taken her on a date and told her he cared for her enough to plan to the future than did he announce he wouldn't be travelling at her side anymore.
 
The session appears as though it is set to end on a bit of a painful, somewhat bittersweet moment. But of course, our dm is a bastard and genius both. In the last few moments of an evening out on the 7th, the day before the holiday ends, Zeal caught an unfortunate glimpse out of the corner of his eye: a masked figure, stalking him in impossible places just beyond his perception, moving from alleyway to rooftop and more without remaining still long enough to be confirmed to be there.