Session 21
General Summary
Moira, without any hesitation, joined Captain Porysis, a Yuan Ti woman, and a tiefling man - who introduced himself shortly thereafter as Jalid - in one of the "private" booths in Dragon's Den. Porysis seemed incredibly relaxed and intrigued by Moira's outfit choice and general demeanor, though the Yuan Ti woman appeared to feel otherwise. Jalid invited Moira to partake in drugs with them, starting with Varoona's Choice. After taking a puff, Moira immediately got uncomfortably warm... what is sleep? Clearly, it's for the weak... at least for a couple days.
With the fashion show finishing up, the other members of the Deep End decided to split up and check the various pop-up pleasure houses for any sign of Moira. Belle and The Widow went to Haven, Rani to Pinnacle, and Newt made his way into Dragon's Den... dressed in the garb of one of the previously defeated pirate captains. Upon entering, Newt quickly noticed Moira partaking in drugs and made his way over as Moira chose to summon Thanatos. Porysis was intrigued by the new arrivals and Jalid was more concerned with whether or not the bird was real. Newt gave everyone a quick scan over and quick hello before promptly dipping with Moira in tow.
Reconvening with Rani outside, Moira informed her that there is a pirate captain just chilling in Dragon's Den. After dousing herself in some water, Moira watched as Thanatos opened his beak allowing a familiar voice to spill forth. Diavolo is intrigued by the situation that he chose to tune in for. When Newt and Moira mentioned the bounty and how they are unable to bounty hunt, Diavolo chided Newt: didn't he teach him better than that? Rani ducked in to grab some drugs.
The Widow got a makeover, courtesy of Belle and the escorts at Haven. He now sports a brand new make-up look with gold eyeliner, a new hairstyle, a heart-shaped nipple piercing with Belle's name engraved in it, and a new set of clothing that exposes a significantly larger proportion of skin than his usual get-up. The Widow was uninterested in going for a walk at the moment.
Rani, after taking a drug to calm her, requested her hour in the Mirror of Therarask. As she approached, the large mirror - lined in gold and filigree - began to ripple and warp as her deepest fantasy came to life. She was transported back to the Bhediya, surrounded by the warmth of the great fire and the familiar sound of drums beating. Dressed in more traditional clothes and her skin now covered in henna, she danced amidst her people with a silhouette of a man across from her, until he leaped over the fire. Her brother and father tested the silhouette, drawing swords, until he was deemed a worthy suitor. For an hour, Rani felt calm, happy, and at peace. But... all good things must come to an end... at least a fantasy.
Moira and Newt went to the "So You Think You Can Lie?" competition where Newt's biggest competition appeared to be Auntie Four. The resident blood witch told the tale of "The Day She Died". Newt recounted a story of his upbringing, lying mostly about the tiefling who raised him. It seems Newt managed to displace Four as the regular winner. She didn't seem... too bothered by that.
Right before leaving the competition, Moira noticed a familiar, shriveled up elven man pickpocketing people. She immediately called out to him and he, seemingly annoyed, angrily vanished into the night. Newt was immediately alarmed now that Bert is involved. Callon informed him that, when Bert chooses to participate, he often wins. Callon and Newt promptly spent the evening stealing scarfs.
Belle and The Widow grabbed breakfast food from the Dragolée stand before heading to the theater where they watched a delightfully lighthearted tale with Rani and Moira. Breakfast with Therarask follows Lucille - a popular escort on Pleasure Row - as she attempted to woo a recently arrived tourist and convince him to stay with her on the island. All the while, she is receiving advice - good and bad - from Therarask, who she is unknowingly getting breakfast with on the regular.
Rani spent the evening with Ezra, walking alongside the canals before retreating to their secret secluded spot for the evening. The rest of the party went back to Dragon's Den to indulge. Jalid emerged from the now closed booth and took a shot of some dark blue liquid with them before waltzing back into the depths of the drug den.
The following morning, after exiting Cali's cabana, the party was getting quite a lot of look... well, Belle was getting a lot more looks. People stopped to look at and fawn over the elven man, while others fanned themselves while flushing furiously... and some even fainted. At the Hall of Illusions, the attendant was so thoroughly distracted by Belle, she barely even noticed the rest of the party. Moira and Newt took advantage of the distraction to "cheat" a little bit... Newt holds the leader position.
The Deep End swung by Dragon's Den to try and make a drug cocktail to assist in the eating competition. While there, a familiar tiefling stumbled his way out of a booth. he seemed to be immediately infatuated with Belle and was easily persuaded to accompany them to the eating contest.
Rani met up with the group for the eating competition... with drug-laced pastries! She happened to notice some sort of necklace hidden beneath Jalid's shirt. After informing Belle that she really wanted to see what was underneath his shirt, Belle easily convinced Jalil to shamelessly rip open the front of his shirt... revealing a smiley face pendant hanging from his neck by a gold chain. He seemed to mutter something as he fixed his shirt.
During the eating competition, Belle lamented not getting any drugs in his pastries until finally he got one... becoming charmed by The Widow. Meanwhile, The Widow was charmed and then completely enthralled by Moira... who was having a real tough time eating. Well, until she had a flash of cold shoot through her. She continued eating, miserably pouting until she won. She pushed away the final pastry.
Having one a free night at Dragon's Den for 7, the Deep End conversed with Jalid. It seems he has a boat, though he wouldn't say the name, but how dare the party not name their boat? It's bad luck! Oh yes, and please do contact him via sending - he would love to partake in drugs again, anytime. He kept muttering about his grandfather, even spitting on the ground when he mentioned him. Seeing the awkward charm triangle... he excused himself, trotting back to Dragon's Den.
Belle seemed irked that The Widow was thoroughly distracted by Moira... who almost thought the elven man had snapped at her. She must have just imagined it though.
Moira helped Newt collect some scarves until Callon came to reinforce.
Belle took The Widow to the Mirror of Therarask, where he was pulled into a fantasy with his wife. She guided him through familiar fields of flowers... through an overgrown orchard with a small shop tucked within it... to the edge of cliffside overlooking the sea where smoke from a large volcano was just barely visible at the edge of the horizon. He heard her voice and held her hand... until the fantasy was rudely ripped away. The Widow attempted to lie about what he saw in the mirror to Belle... who didn't believe him.
After Marigold ushered Rani through costume and make-up, Ezra found her shortly before their performance. The others, meanwhile, made their way into the theater joining Zephus near the stage. Zephus, after initially glancing at Belle, adamantly refused to make eye contact with him. Callon, however, only shrugged and pointed to Belle... seemingly unaffected.
As the lights dimmed, Ezra was illuminated on stage for but a moment before Rani burst in, swarm at her heel. With blades clasped in their hands, they engaged in a deadly tango, gliding across the stage with easy until Rani pushed him away. When Rani was about to stumble, a short whistle cut through and Rani found her step guided. Daring moves brought blades quite close, but never cutting as the swarm mimicked the ebb and flow of each movement. Ezra sealed the spectacular performance with a kiss. The audience erupted into applause at its conclusion.
After the fiery performance, everyone watched Tales from Pleasure Row, a series of comedies and other short stories from the most popular escort establishments on Therarask. Some time during the theater or perhaps right after... Bert struck, snagging the scarves off of one of Newt's horns. Newt swore vengeance.
The Deep End gathered at the beach to play one truth and two lies with special guests Callon and Ezra. The Widow apparently almost beat his father to death. Callon has in fact not slept with Cali Valdove. Newt hasn't killed over 100 people with Diavolo. Moira likes curry, was raised by a green dragonborn... and lying is hard. Ezra did start dancing young, but the age wasn't quite right. Rani will not have to marry the man her parents choose for her. Belle is in fact NOT here to kill one of them. The whole time, Ezra was uncomfortable with the weird reaction he was having to Belle. Seems Belle knows Ezra's parents.
Ezra took Rani on a walk down the beach. He asked to know which one of her statements was true. He found it incredibly humorous that they'd turned the drums blue. He'd love to visit the desert one day. In return, Ezra informed Rani that his mother is a changeling... and so, by extension, so is he. However... Ezra has one minor issue that forces him to be a fire genasi most of the time. He then whisked them away to their spot for the night, always happy to spend a moment with her... even better when that moment is just the two of them.
Newt, Moira, and Callon set out for revenge... After tracking the "man" down to his own establishment, they confronted Bert. He instilled fear into Newt before urging them out of his shop. They then tracked him to the floating festival grounds where, after attempting to steal back the scarves, Bert rounded on Newt, bopping him with his cane. When Moira then attempted to steal from Bert - now participating in the pickpocketing competition - he glared at her and muttered something along the lines of "WTF is up with you". When they announced Bert's presence to everyone, Bert booked it into the sea. With the "Bert alarm" raised, everyone competing seems more on guard.
Callon spoke to Newt about dreams... he's been having some. He just sees the tiefling man as if he's trying to tell him something... he can never hear it. He agreed to go get a blood test to confirm everything.
Moira spoke with the head, learning its name: Jaakobah.
Rani had a pleasant dream. She relived the fantasy of the mirror of Therarask, but this time, there was a faint trail of gold that followed her motions. She felt a wave of content wash over her when she awoke. Newt dreamt of a tiefling man who warned him to watch his back for death lurks everywhere. When Newt responded that death is his lady, the tiefling asked: "Is she?"
In the morning, Newt was taken aback by Belle... he's quite charming. Moira felt something attempt to settle over her, but she seemed to shake off the effect.
It is the day of Devotion... the last day of San Futas...
Report Date
14 Oct 2021
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