Session 22: Touchy Feely

General Summary

This session was a lot of emotional regulation and physical interaction as far as downtime goes.
Num Erik Al visited with Fendrel Drake the historian and gave an interview about his lost village, Verailles, which was both cathartic and bittersweet. The gnome had not previously had a chance to talk about his lost home, so he walked away feeling pretty raw and vulnerable but perhaps a bit better. The two agreed to stay in touch in case Fendrel had more questions or Al more to say.
L0L4 and ALEK51 returned to Marigold of the Warmhearted Cold Metal organization to hear updates on their own lost histories.

• Marigold told L0L4 that they'd been able to narrow down the people who helped create her to a very small list of distributors and smiths in the Cities of Mercy and Wrath pre-Breaking and were working through old shipping manifests and commission logs to learn more. She tells L0L4 that it seems that whomever made her considered her very special indeed, considering she is made with very rare and expensive parts like Iridite. In fact, Marigold tells L0L4 that she could be excused for feeling some measure of pride, since Iridite is used for art; whoever made her was making art and probably cared a lot about her.
  L0L4 isn't sure how to take this and is stunned, flattered, and horrified at herself for feeling flattered. Marigold tells her that they'll keep looking for more leads and to check in if she needs anything.

• ALEK had not truly been expecting to learn much when he signed up with WCM, doing it more as a sign of solidarity with L0L4 than an actual venture on his part. The day having previously yielded him losing his contract with the Scriptorium Soiram, however (see Session 21: It's Glorbin' Time), makes it extra surprising when Marigold actually does have a few snippets for him.
  She tells ALEK that they've been chasing some leads on tracking down Warforged with similar builds/characteristics to ALEK, indicating they may have shared a manufacturer. It's not much, Marigold apologizes, but ALEK is surprised there was any progress at all, stunned for a moment out of his otherwise dissociative state.
  All 3 feel a little vulnerable and shaken up after opening themselves up this session, so they decide to go visit One Who Smiles For the Dark ("Oney") and get a little bit of counseling because, hey, we value mental health here.
  Skipping past a large amount of Salem pulling out every bit of empathy therapy speak they possibly could, the trio walk away feeling...slightly better?
With perhaps some more mental unpacking to do about their identities, self-worth, and requirements they assign themselves in their relationships.
Speaking of relationships...the party decides to blow off some steam that night by visiting the Striptorium, a pleasure house that a few of them had visited before. There's a beautiful montage of people trying on clothes that prompted an entire Lewks discord channel to be born and no shortage of teasing the less experienced ones among the group such as Khashayar Entezami.
While at the Striptorium, Kitanya Evermoon syncs up with her connection, the galaxy-skinned Aasimar Beateah, who instantly notices something is different about Kitanya (namely, something in her blood, which tips us off that Beateah probably has some vampy stuff going on). Kitanya does her charming bimbo infodump (bimbodump?) at the sex worker while they cuddle and carouse, with the interaction ultimately ending with Kitanya informing the group she's going home with Beateah.
Wynnie Bishop also follows up with a contact from her previous visit, a transmutation-focused changeling called The Weirdling. What starts out as a fairly standard (for The Weirdling) session of philosophizing and playing with the mutability of the physical form, however, ends with Wynnie going into a bit of a panicked tailspin when she is stopped by the changeling upon departing and given an extremely cryptic warning...premonition...divination? About not being afraid to jump into an abyss and needing to trust her friends. This would maybe only be slightly concerning, except the sex worker also handed Wynnie an Arcanum Portentia card, a sufficiently creepy one that hints at deep thalassophobic abysses. (Bonus points: Wynnie has a deep fear of water/drowning.)
Most of the rest of the party sticks close to the bar, playing a drinking roulette that sees them trying all kinds of yummy and terrible liquor including one that causes euphoria, one that turns the drinker into an animal, and more than one that causes hallucinations. We pause there, in the thralls of libation and recreation, for next session.

Rewards Granted

• Existential crises

• A creepy new Arcanum Portentia card.

Character(s) interacted with

• Beateah

• The Weirdling

• Oney

• Marigold

Report Date

11 Sep 2024

Primary Location

Cities of Mercy and Wrath

Related Characters

• ALEK51
• Amanita Guttata
• Fendrel Drake
• Khashayar Entezami
• Kitanya Evermoon
• L0L4
• Marigold
• Num Erik Al
• One Who Smiles For the Dark
• Wynnie Bishop