Episode 28
General Summary
18th Fitin 1870 KCB
Emerging from Lupectra's cave once more, Collective Action finds that night has fallen. They climb the nearby cliff, and Barnabus sets up the magical hut for them to rest for the night. During the evening, Celine hears what sounds like large rocks tumbling on the wind. Deciding that it was probably just a rock slide caused by the torrential rain, the party investigates it the following morning.
Heading south along the coast, the group discovers another cave, but this one looks like it was once concealed by large rocks - which have now been disturbed. Inside the cave, they find another briny pool of water, and evidence of a secret door concealed by Magic. After a few attempts to get into the room, the party eventually gives up - believing a magical key or password being required to get in. The party dives into the new pool, but after half an hour of swimming, decide to turn back, not wanting to use up another day in the murky water.
Heading above ground, the party heads west, following where they believe the tunnel would go. Along the way, they experience another memory, this one from Meepo's past again. Within the memory, they witness Meepo (junior or senior, it's unclear) with Aveline. The duo is completing a mission, which involves delivering a strange-shaped package to a mysterious "Wayfarer" person, through a magical portal. They eventually find themselves in another forest, and witness Lupectra collecting the souls of the dead. Eventually, they come across a strange path seemingly made of opalescent glass. Groban identifies the glass as being the trail of a Flail Snail, an elemental creature that is usually harmless. Its glass-like secretions and shell can be worth a lot of money to the right buyer however.
The group follows the trail, and eventually begins to hear a hauntingly tragic sound - like that of a lost and hurt puppy. The cause of the sound is a Flail Snail, which has been hurt. Blair heals the creature a little, and after some investigation, the party believes that there were 2 snails here, and one has been taken away. The most likely suspects based on the footprints are The Green Gang. The party gets a good view of the south side of the island, finding another ravine which seems to be the snail's home, but not much else. They do however experience another memory, this time belonging to Barnabus. Within, they watch a younger Barny performing on a horn at the College of Exquisite Arts. The performance doesn't go well, and the vision reveals a hint of some magical foul play at hand.
They then head north, and Roan speaks to a squirrel. The critter confirms their suspicions that someone has been in the forest before them, and that there are likely more snails around than just the 1 they have found. At the edge of the forest, they also encounter the corpse of a Giant Badger, possibly the remnants of another divine beast. Continuing north along the cliff, the party witness a curious sight, as a glowing orange light streaks across the sky from the west, heading towards the centre of the island. Upon closer inspection, the flying object appears to be Firebird. Meepo attempts to communicate with the sorcerer using his telepathy, but she doesn't respond.
Hootcules is sent west to see where Firebird came from, and reports that The Fist of Justice have just had an encounter with some Harpies, but look to be mostly unscathed. Resuming their journey north, the party come across a large cave with a stream running into the sea. The cave is inhabited by giant crabs, included a colossal crab king. Roan converses with the crabs, who only seem concerned with eating them. The party flees and easily outrun the crabs, resuming their journey back to Vodas. Another memory finds the party, as the group witness Blair's arrival in Nistaun with the help of Yssandra Scaleweaver. The innkeeper displaying some previously unknown strength and magical ability. The group continues walking towards the ruins of Vodas, to watch the events of the past play out once more.
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