General Summary
Collective Action come to terms with the fact that they recently died and are no indebted to the mysterious figure they believe to be "M"
Blair, having lost her scythe, leaves the room and heads down to the taproom of the Water Dragon Tavern
They order a drink, and whilst talking to the bar staff - a woman called Silvy Goldbrew, Blair learns that it has been roughly 4 days since their party was defeated
Whilst talking to Silvy, Blair learns that they don't look quite right. Their face has become quite sickly looking, and they don't feel entirely themselves
Blair realises that without her divine scythe, whatever sickness they had before they became a warlock has returned
Upstairs, Groban and Celine make some apologies for what happened, but can at least say they got what they wanted out of the deal (the location of a Moonblade)
The rest of the party head downstairs, whilst Groban attempts to magically identify his new tattoo. The spell backfires however, leaving him with no new information and a mild headache
The party regroup, and head into the city to conduct some business before heading back to Takari Peak
Most of the adventurers head to the University Magic shop, but find nothing worth buying
They then head to the Temple of Magic, and hand in the holy signet ring of Morgana and idol that they found in the cave
As thanks for bringing these items to the temple, and for the information on where to find the shrine of Morgana, one of the priestesses casts a spell on Blair to discover what illness may be affecting them
The priestess discovers that Blair is afflicted with an elven illness that strips them of their immortality. The disease will effectively make Blair age and eventually die like a Human, all the while becoming weaker as time goes on. Unfortunately, even the temple's high priestess has no cure for such an affliction
Meanwhile, Roan has gone to Madame X with her coupon, in the hopes of taking a Memory Elixir
She meets a Tiefling called Valerian, who steps aside for the Angelkin known as Celestia to take over, as she is the one who deals with this treatment
Celestia seems somewhat hesitant to accept the coupon at first, but does so anyway before taking Roan into a back room
Celestia instructs Roan to make herself comfortable, while she prepares the elixir
The Angelkin asks Roan to explain the memory she is trying to recover, and as she does so, Celestia's demeanour changes somewhat, as if she has some familiarity with the story
Roan takes the elixir, which puts her into a sound sleep, but no memories come
The druid awakens to find Celestia out of the room, talking to somebody about her
The woman returns to the room, and Roan explains that nothing happens
Celestia tries to explain that it must have gone wrong somehow, and that Roan can take her coupon back and return another time - but Roan is having none of it
After waiting for a little while, it seems clear that Celestia is hiding something - but she refuses to say anything except to warn Roan that she should leave, lest their be trouble
Roan makes further attempts to speak to Celestia more, but is eventually forced to leave
Barnabus meanwhile has gone to pay his mother a visit at the palace
The prince gives his mother, Cecelia Orbeck, a rundown of his latest exploits - including the little detail that he recently died
Cecelia is naturally shocked by this revelation, and urges her son to come home and find a new hobby
After some debate, Cecelia relents. She asks Barnabus to update her more often if possible, and to try his best to stay out of danger
Before he leaves, Cecelia warns Barnabus that the appearance of the new moon seems to be affecting those with the family curse somewhat. She believes that on the double full moon tomorrow, there may be unexpected effects that they go through...
The party eventually regroup, and teleport over to the MacGuffin Gatherer's guild
Inadi welcomes them home, and tells them that the other 3 adventuring groups are ready to embark upon their expedition to God's Fall
The party get cleaned up somewhat, before joining The Fist of Justice, The Green Gang, and Kelsey's Revenge through the teleportation circle once more
They arrive on a beach, the sun baring down on them. All around fancy tents have been set up, with servants milling about the place
They meet their financier for this quest, a man called Brutus Knightsbridge
Introductions are made, and each party is called to introduce themselves on a small stage, including what quests they have recently undertaken
Brutus goes on to reveal that this expedition is in fact, a little competition
He wants each party to explore the island however they see fit, and report back with the best story that they can
As the sun goes down, Brutus leads the group to a place he has dubbed "The Whispering Coral Cove" where he instructs everybody to listen to the waves
As the sun sinks below the horizon, the corals light up with a bioluminesence, and whispers can be heard on the water
Collective Action manage to pick up on some of these whispers, before heading off to bed before the competition begins the next day
Entry for WorldEmber 2023
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