Ep 35: "Crockpot Theories"

On the night of Iseris 5, Seldanna reported to the castle for dinner with her husband. Juveha went along, as per usual, but the greeting they received was definitely not the usual.  A bouquet of flowers had arrived with the carriage that would take them to the castle and trumpeters greeted their arrival at the castle with full fanfare. A footman proudly announced that Seldanna had “arrived home” and the King was dressed more formally than usual. He had his hair done up in a fancy manner and his facial hair, which had begun to grow in, was shaved and trimmed.

As the first course was served, the king asked if Seldanna was feeling any better. She replied curtly with that she was indeed feeling better. As conversation progressed, the King lamented the fact that discourse between them seemed to have not progressed and, perhaps, had even cooled in the time they had spent together. Seldanna mentioned that the events that occurred at the Beer Forge, and his lack of response, had put a bit of a damper on the relationship.

Seldanna mentioned that Tybalt Lockridge was being threatened by someone dangerous. She asked that a Nocturne be sent to protect the Brell Estate. He asked who the threat was, and she gave him Tyrell’s name. The King answered that his best Nocturne would be sent, but warned that standard Nocturne would be useless against Tyrell’s abilities. Only “Amy” could resist his powers.

The King spent most of the dinner trying to find a way to please Seldanna. He offered to take her to a play, invite her favorite author to dinner, or travel.  She replied with a half-hearted agreement, with the caveat “perhaps once things are more settled within the kingdom.” During dessert, the King asked Seldanna for her request. She requested a hiatus from their dinners, until the following week, due to her feelings of unrest. He agreed and bid her farewell.

On the way home, Seldanna asked Juveha whether or not moving into the castle would help her relationship with the King. Juveha pointed out that he didn’t seem to want to harm Seldanna, but if she were to move into the castle it could be complicated. Especially if she continued to keep him at arm’s length and continued to not participate in a more civil manner.

The next morning as the group awoke they again discovered the strange handwriting, which had previously asked “where are the Nocturne?”,  in their books. This time it read “Do NOT kill Tyrell.” It was seemingly in response to GB’s note where he had expressed wanting to find allies to do just that.

The rest of the morning was spent getting things done before the lunch meet. At the Brell Estate, Mari had tended to Hayley while she recovered from the Beer Forge events. Swazi was cooking breakfast when Pip came downstairs and there was a large amount of food being prepared. As others started to wake up and come downstairs, Swazi ran off to dance, leaving Pip to fend for himself in the kitchen. Mari arrived to assist, followed by Owen.

Cyl consulted with Dub, Whatever’s new moniker, about the nature of her creation. Cyl stated that she didn’t want to disappoint her Mother. She felt that she couldn’t fight things that needed fighting or protect people that needed protecting. Dub went to leave and Cyl asked what he would like for the next picture. He responded with “Something yellow.” Then, Cyl felt a presence behind her, and turned to see Tyrell standing there. He asked whether or not the party had come to a decision regarding Tybalt. Cyl stated that she was on her way to see them and he agreed to come along.

As they walked, Cyl revealed that the party knew that Tyrell could control the Nocturne. He was shocked with the revelation, and demanded to know who told her. The only people who knew that fact couldn’t talk about it, save the Keysmith and those that the Keysmith may have told. It was revealed that the King, via Seldanna, was the source. Tyrell told Cyl that she had given him some hope that the geas could be resolved quickly, but the fact that the King was the source, meant that hope was gone. Cyl managed to convince him to still come to lunch and see if the party couldn’t figure out a way to move forward.

Pesk went to speak to Afra, and overheard Jastra speaking with her. Pesk heard Afra telling Jastra that “she’s not sure what it is, that it might just be their lunch meetings.” They talked a bit more and shared a laugh, then Jastra invited Afra to tea on Wednesday. Pesk knocked on the door as the conversation closed, and Jastra opened the door. She questioned Pesk on how long she had been standing there and did not seem convinced when she claimed to have just arrived. After she left, Afra and Pesk began to speak circuitously about the geas. Pesk posited her theory that Kembrick was, in fact, Tybalt. Afra refuted it by saying that she was present when Kembrick died. Pesk asked whether or not the Sub Rosarium might know whether or not it was possible that Kembrick had lived on in Tybalt, thus preventing Tyrell’s plan from working. Afra laughed it off as a crackpot idea.

As Pip, Owen, and Mari went to leave the estate, a Nocturne armored in silver appeared. It was Amy, the Nocturne with a human face and she offered a small wooden token that, if broken, would summon her. She asked them to break it, if they saw Tyrell while they were away from the estate, as she wished for as little collateral damage as possible. They agreed and she began to patrol the estate. Seldanna arrived and was initially accosted by Amy, but she was very apologetic when she recognized Seldanna.

Before leaving, they checked on Tybalt and he asked why there was a Nocturne flying around the lawn. The party conveyed that Tyrell was coming for him and assured him that the Nocturne was there to protect him. Tybalt seemed defeated by the news, and asked if there was anything that could be done to mollify Tyrell’s wrath. They told him that they were going to see if there was anything that they could do.

They all began to head to the Beer Forge for their lunch meeting. Pesk approached the establishment, freshly refurbished from the damage dealt by the Five. Cyl and Tyrell arrived shortly thereafter. Cyl had been detailing, ad nauseum, the logistical problems when coordinating 16 people to meet and discuss plans.Pesk introduced Tyrell to Ivy as “Mister T” and he ordered a skewer and an Iron. Pesk and Cyl lead Tyrell to the reserved table. The other four arrived, and Cyl met them at the door, to ask them to keep their cool and have a civil discussion. Everyone agreed to do so.

Tyrell quickly realized that the party had no idea as to a potential solution outside of killing Tybalt. Potential options were discussed, but Tyrell was dissatisfied with any solution that the party discussed. Seldanna mentioned that her access to the King was an opportunity to tap him for information on the Keysmith, which was someone that both Tyrell and the Phoenix Dawn needed to find. Tyrell asked how long it might take her to get to the information, because he did not have a lot of time. Seldanna asked for a month. Tyrell agreed and then handed over a coin pouch and departed, with Cyl following after.

Cyl and Tyrell discussed Cyl’s condition, but he stated that he doesn’t know anything about it and she should ask Afra. Cyl responded that she had already done so, and Tyrell told her that Afra likely knows more that she was letting on. VKTR was brought together by a few things, but one of them was their ability to lie. In desperation, Cyl asked Tyrell where he got the eirshale reagent. He said that he got it from the Sub Rosarium, handed Cyl the vial of eirshale powder, and turned to leave. Cyl returned to the bar.

Owen and Pip examined the coin pouch and found a large amount of coin in it. Once Cyl returned, Owen saw that Cyl was holding something valuable and surmised that Tyrell wouldn’t have disposed of his valuables if he had anything to live for. The party ran to the Brell Estate, worried over what may be about to happen.

Amy was still flying above as everyone entered the estate. Seldanna and Cyl ran into the house and called out to Tybalt, who was very afraid. Pesk entered after them and heard scratching in the hall by Preston’s study. She found Tyrell there, sealing scrolls. He pushed past her and Cyl, ignoring their pleas to stop. Seldanna called Amy into the house, by breaking the wooden disk, and she stood in front of Tybalt.

Tyrell delivered an impassioned speech to Tybalt, ignoring the rest of the party. He urged Tybalt to do the right thing, explaining that the actions and support of the party was what saved him. Tyrell said he was tired and couldn’t go on any longer. He continued to walk up the stairs to Amy, who then disintegrated Tyrell. Tybalt collapsed in relief and tears.

Pesk, silently crying, went into the office and grabbed the scrolls Tyrell had written. One was for Cyl, one for Jastra, one for Pinbòl, and one for Afra. She handed the scrolls to Cyl, except for the one for Afra, and then left without saying a word.