Anyway, Murder.

The group debates on how to travel; on foot, on horseback, or perhaps a carriage? There is also the possibility of signing on for an escort mission to earn some pocket money on the way. Though there is the matter of them being unlicensed adventurers… Maybe that’s worth asking around about. They start wrapping up their business in Anamdael by visiting their ex-toad friend at the Academy. ‘Funny thing,’ says Xadrynk nervously, as he welcomes them into his rooms. ‘Shortly after our previous conversation, it appears someone pulled a, uh, prank on one of the students in a restricted area. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that?’ ‘Not at all,’ Annori lies. ‘It sounds like pranks happen often around here, what with you being turned into a toad and all.’ ‘Right, right,’ says Xadrynk, seemingly convinced. They tell him they’re about to head out of town. Xadrynk thanks them once again for all their help, and assures them they’re always welcome to seek him out if they ever return to Anamdael. ‘By the way,’ says Raiden, remembering another loose end. ‘Do you by any chance know a Niles Candler? We came across his abandoned belongings on the road a while back and his notebook suggests he was a professor here.’ ‘Candler? Oh yeah, he’s with Cosmology,’ says Xadrynk. ‘Melany Schaffer would be the one to ask, probably.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Raiden. ‘Well, see you around, Xadrynk!’ Annori embraces Xadrynk. ‘If you ever want to be turned back into a toad, let me know.’ ‘She can do that?’ Raiden whispers nervously to Ara.‘Ah, no thank you,’ laughs Xadrynk. ‘I quite like being able to use my hands.’

Next, they stop by at Marcius’ place, where they find him and Bree studying together. Bree reports he’s feeling much better and has had no lingering issues from his possession. ‘I’m just happy to be back to my studies,’ he says, quickly glancing over at Marcius. ‘And, you know, just being around.’ When asked about Candler, Bree also mentions the Cosmology department. They have no personal experience with the guy, however; they only ever took Introduction to Cosmology, which was taught by a different professor.
‘How he managed to make an interesting subject into the most boring class ever is beyond me,’ recalls Bree. ‘It was the worst. Once I passed that class I never pursued Cosmology again.’ They say goodbye. ‘Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!’ exclaims Annori from the doorway. ‘So that leaves you with a pretty wide range of options,’ Raiden notes. ‘Boat haunting? Still very much on the table.’ Bree and Marcius exchange a confused look. Ara lingers as his companions depart, and approaches Marcius for a quick sidebar. ‘I would like to ask you for some relationship advice,’ Ara says. ‘Oh! Alright, what do you need?’ ‘I have been… on and off with this man for a little while,’ Ara explains. ‘But things went sideways recently and I’m not sure how to proceed.’ ‘So it’s ended? I’m sorry to hear that,’ says Marcius. ‘I think I ended it,’ says Ara. ‘After I spent the night, they were gone, and they’d left money for me on the table.’ ‘That’s not… great,’ sighs Marcius. ‘It was payment for another job I did for them,’ Ara explains. ‘But still. And I don’t understand why they didn’t just wake me when they had to leave, you know? They just left a note saying it was urgent.’ ‘Urgent how?’ ‘Someone died, I don’t know,’ Ara sighs. ‘But not, like, a relative or anything. It was important for their job to go deal with it.’ ‘Oh,’ says Marcius, getting more confused by the second. ‘Wait, this wouldn’t have anything to do with the rumors about the sudden death of the princess of Nospait, would it? Is this Ambassador Talthanryl we’re talking about?’ ‘Of course not,’ says Ara quickly. ‘They’re way out of my league.’ ‘Right,’ Marcius chuckles. ‘I mean that would be highly unlikely. So have you two talked at all since that happened?’ Ara huffs. ‘Yes. I told them to fuck off.’ ‘I get it, you were angry…’ ‘I have been told that a lot,’ Ara remarks. ‘Then the best course of action is probably to cool off a little before reaching out,’ suggests Marcius. ‘But I want them to reach out,’ protests Ara. ‘I don’t want to seem desperate.’ ‘I’m sure they will,’ Marcius reassures him. ‘If anything, this just seems like a pretty clumsy move on their part, but it doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to. Try to clear your head, if you can, and I’m sure things will work out.’ ‘I appreciate it,’ says Ara. ‘I am new to this social dynamic and I’m unsure of the rules.’ Marcius smiles. ‘It can be challenging to navigate. But with the right person, that’s all worth it.’ As Ara exits, Marcius turns to Bree. ‘You don’t think I’m desperate, do you?’

‘So, Annori – your druid master,’ says Raiden, as they walk through the hallways of the Academy. ‘Was he a boring teacher?’ ‘Mm, he was alright,’ she replies. ‘He knows a lot about magic and I enjoyed learning. The boring part was that he never really talked about much else.’ ‘That sounds a little lonely.’ ‘I mean, I wasn’t alone – there were some swamp elves I got along with pretty well,’ she reminisces. ‘Compared to living on the streets, it was pretty great! He provided food and shelter and everything.’ ‘Food is pretty great,’ Raiden agrees. ‘How did you learn your magic?’ Annori asks. ‘My magic?’ Raiden repeats. ‘If you can even call it that, I guess. Small tricks. I picked them up from my mom’s book.’ ‘I like your tricks,’ she says. ‘You seem to learn pretty quickly.’ Raiden laughs. ‘To be fair, I’ve been pouring over this book for ten years, so I wouldn’t call it quick by any means. But then I guess the book isn’t technically meant to teach this stuff. It’s about complex magical theory that is way beyond my comprehension. But some of the notes my mom left in the margins pertain to smaller illusory stuff, so I managed to scrape something together.’ ‘So was your mom good at magic?’ Annori asks as they head up a big staircase. ‘She was. Is,’ Raiden corrects himself. ‘She never told me much about her job, but everyone treated her like a highly skilled arcanist.’ ‘Hey, maybe when we’re in Osta Asari you could find some more spell books!’ ‘Yeah, maybe.’ Raiden glances inside a classroom full of students as they pass by. ‘I don’t actually remember if my mom knows magic,’ Annori ponders. ‘What do you remember of her?’ ‘I remember… warm,’ she says slowly. ‘The kind of warmth that gets all around you. She had a lovely singing voice. And there was this feeling that when I was with her, everything was good.’ She takes a breath. ‘What if when I see her again, it feels different?’ Raiden nods. ‘I guess most people have the luxury of having that relationship change gradually over time, instead of facing that contrast all at once.’ They round a corner. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’ll be bad. Just different.’ ‘Yeah,’ Annori sighs. She then perks up a bit. ‘I wonder if your mom and my mom would like each other.’ Raiden smiles. ‘I, for one, am excited to meet her.’

They arrive at the office of Miss Schaffer, who is a human in her mid twenties and appears to be quite tired. She invites them to sit and prepares some tea and coffee for them. ‘What can I help you with? You’re not students of mine, are you?’ ‘We are adventurers,’ says Raiden. ‘And we happened upon the personal belongings of a coworker of yours, one Niles Candler.’ ‘Candler?’ She turns towards them. ‘What… what happened to him?’ ‘We’re not sure,’ Raiden explains, as he lays out the notebook and the other items on the desk. ‘But he’s been away for long enough that the innkeep doesn’t think he is coming back.’ ‘I see,’ miss Schaffer breathes. Her face betrays an array of emotions, from surprise and sadness to a hint of relief. She moves over to the desk and picks up the notebook. ‘Thank you for letting me know. I have been taking over a bunch of his tasks and classes, I guess that job is less temporary than I thought it’d be.’ She looks up. ‘Professor Candler was my mentor,’ she explains. ‘He taught me everything I know. It’ll be strange without him around here.’ ‘I read some of his notes,’ says Raiden. ‘I don’t know anything about the Feywild, but if that’s what he was studying… Doesn’t time pass differently there? Do you think there’s a chance he just meant to pop his head in for a minute and got stuck?’ ‘Perhaps,’ miss Schaffer muses. ‘Though it would be highly out of character for him to venture into the Feywild without his notes. Plus, he’s very aware of the rules, he wouldn’t be caught unawares by them.’ ‘The inn he disappeared at was at the edge of a forest with a bunch of strange magical activity,’ Annori remembers. ‘Maybe the rules were different there.’ ‘Are there people who would want to harm Professor Candler?’ Raiden asks. Miss Schaffer hesitates. ‘I mean, he wasn’t universally liked by his students – he’s been known to take some, um, creative liberties with their work. I’m sure some folks resent him for that. But enough to harm him…?’ ‘Or maybe someone played a prank on him,’ Annori offers. ‘That seems to happen a lot here. Like when Xadrynk was turned into a toad and abandoned in that temple.’ ‘I’m sorry?’ Schaffer inquires, a little shocked. ‘Oh yeah, that’s what he told us had happened at least,’ Annori explains. ‘Something with potions. He was in there for a while.’ ‘That sounds like more than a prank,’ Schaffer notes in disbelief. ‘Perhaps I should look into that. Xadrynk, you said?’ ‘Oh, he’s fine now,’ Annori adds hastily. ‘We fixed him and now he’s back working on his graduation.’ ‘Right,’ Schaffer mumbles. ‘Either way, thank you for letting me know about Professor Candler. I appreciate you taking the time to drop off his things.’ ‘No problem,’ says Raiden. ‘Thanks for the coffee. Based on how strong it is, I suppose I should wish you luck with the rest of the semester.’ Ara, meanwhile, experiences his first cup of coffee, and is altogether unimpressed.

The next stop on their goodbye-tour is Master Valms apothecary. As soon as he steps foot inside the store, Ara notices some shelves that are poorly stocked. ‘I know, I know,’ says Valm, as he comes to greet them. 'Don’t worry, I’ve put in the orders, there’s just been a delay with the delivery.’ He looks around. ‘You brought your friends this time.’ ‘We’re leaving town soon,’ says Ara. ‘Thought I’d say goodbye.’ ‘I see,’ says Valm. ‘Well, it’s been nice to have someone to talk to about home. Thank you for indulging an old man.’ ‘Could you ever be convinced to return to the swamp?’ asks Ara. Valm brushes away some dried leaves from the counter. ‘It’s complicated. But it’d be nice to have the possibility.’ ‘Yeah,’ sighs Ara wistfully. ‘Well, I’ll make sure to tell my dad about you. That way, if you ever do return, you can get some free stuff from his workshop.’ Valm smiles. ‘I appreciate the gesture.’ He looks at Annori and Raiden, who is browsing shelves in the background. ‘You all stick together now, alright? Trust each other.’ ‘We’ll try our best,’ says Annori. ‘Though one of us already left, and another is… Are you still on friend parole, Raiden?’ ‘Last I checked, yeah!’ Raiden replies. ‘Damn, I really thought we ended that already,’ Annori whispers to Ara. ‘Good luck on your travels,’ says Valm. ‘If you’re ever back in town, do stop by.’ As they leave, Annori lingers behind and places a gold coin on the counter. ‘Thank you again for looking out for Ara,’ she says. ‘If it weren’t for you, I think he’d be much worse off.’ Valm pushes the coin back to her. ‘No need for that. It may be on your shoulders now to keep this group together. It isn’t a fair thing, but I wish you the best all the same.’ Annori smiles awkwardly. ‘Yeah, we’ll try to save the world, I guess.’ ‘It’s not about saving the world, I think,’ says Valm, as he watches Ara walk away. ‘But I hope you all find out what’s been going on. If swamp elves are going to be part of this world again, and I personally very much hope we do, we will need to find a way to exist in it without being swallowed by it.’ ‘We’ll do our best,’ Annori promises. She takes back the coin and hands Valm a granola bar instead, which he is pleased to accept.

At the temple of the Wildmother, Annori updates her deity about everything. When she shares her nerves about reuniting with her mom, she feels embraced by a pleasant warmth – not trying to imitate her mothers memory, but to amplify it.

‘I think the friend parole thing is over,’ says Ara as he and Raiden pack their travel bags. ‘Oh,’ says Raiden, surprised. ‘You sure?’ ‘Yeah, you did pretty well. With the Candler business, it was clever to follow up on that lead.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Raiden, wrapping up pairs of socks. ‘Well, you told me to make a plan, so I obliged. I feel like that’ll get easier once we’re in Osta Asari – I know that place.’ ‘Does that mean people will know you there?’ asks Ara. ‘Uh, yeah,’ Raiden replies. ‘Maybe. Probably.’ ‘Are you gonna be in trouble?’ ‘No!’ He thinks for a second. ‘Nooo… Hm? No.’ ‘Well, I’m reassured,’ says Ara. ‘I just haven’t given it much thought before,’ Raiden explains. ‘I don’t usually return places. But I don’t believe I’ve done wrong by most people who knew me there. Aside from disappearing on them, I suppose some folks weren’t too pleased with that.’ ‘Who were you back when you lived in Osta Asari?’ Ara asks. ‘Oh, loads of people,’ says Raiden. ‘I worked at a tavern for a pretty long time. Did my first jobs for the Copper Syndicate. And I was a merchants assistant for a bit. It’s a big city, easy to live multiple lives in.’ ‘Do you think “Raiden” will be your adult name?’ Raiden considers this for a second. ‘I think so? It feels right, I think. To stick with something for once.’ ‘You’re lucky – elves only get to pick one new name in their lifetime,’ says Ara. ‘Why?’ Ara sorts his belongings by size on the bed. ‘We choose our name once we learn who we truly are. And we spend the first century of our lives figuring out who that is.’ ‘That’s pretty nice,’ says Raiden. ‘But what’s stopping you from re-learning who you are, in, I don’t know, another couple centuries from now?’ ‘That’s just not how it works,’ states Ara. ‘There’s a whole ritual. My mother chose an archery contest.’ ‘Amazing,’ says Raiden, carefully wrapping up his razor. ‘Did she win?’ ‘Of course, she picked the contestants.’ Raiden laughs. ‘So what was your ritual like?’ ‘I haven’t had mine yet,’ Ara states. ‘Oh,’ says Raiden. He looks up at the swamp elf. ‘Does that bother you?’ Ara takes a second to answer. ‘Not the fact that I’m late. I’m not entirely sure I have figured out who I am yet.’ ‘I can relate,’ exhales Raiden. ‘But the fact that my community deemed me to not be ready… stings. And now I’m away, so who knows how long it’ll be until they can reconsider.’ ‘Hm,’ hums Raiden. ‘Though I guess it gives you time to plan your ritual.’ ‘I would like for it to involve fist-fighting,’ declares Ara. ‘I’d love to get a good punch in on my mother.’ Raiden chortles. ‘That would be very fitting, I’d say.’ ‘What would you want your naming ritual to be like?’ ‘That’s a good question,’ Raiden ponders, stuffing rations into his pack. ‘I guess I’d have to figure out what I like.’ ‘Perhaps we can all give this some thought on the road to Osta Asari.’ Ara looks over at him. ‘We should really focus on the packing, though, cause those rations are mine and you need to give them back.’

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Ara, feeling only the complete betrayal Toady Stark warned him for, locks eyes with the thief and glowers: ‘I don’t.’ Annori takes a deep breath, channels the Wildmother and the worry she expressed over this item, and casts Dispel Magic. She waits a couple of seconds, but nothing seems to have changed. She looks up at Raidens expectant gaze and shakes her head. She extends the toad to Ara. ‘I’ll give it back to you if you promise to come to the temple of the Wildmother with me, so we can sort this out.’ Ara snatches the plushie from her hand. ‘I do not negotiate with thieves and traitors.’ He turns around and exits the inn. Raiden drops his head into his hands. ‘Why on earth did you do that now?’ exclaims Annori, flustered. ‘What? I thought we’d agreed to do it after the job!’ ‘Yeah but not immediately after!’ ‘I still don’t understand what just happened,’ interjects Kevin. ‘I talked to the Wildmother about Ara, and she had a really bad feeling about that plushie,’ explains Annori. ‘I thought if I could look at it up close, see what was wrong with it, I might be able to fix it.’ ‘I fucked up,’ sighs Raiden. ‘I guess I assumed that just getting it out of his hands would be enough. Or that you would be able to, I don’t know, do some magic about it.’ ‘I did,’ says Annori, ‘Or, I tried to, anyway. But there was nothing magical about it that I could undo.’ ‘So it wasn’t hexed?’ asks Kevin. ‘Was the Wildmother wrong?’ ‘I don’t think so, because I did get a terrible sensation while I was holding it,’ notes Annori. ‘It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. But we may need more powerful help to fix this problem.’ ‘A problem I’ve now made exponentially worse,’ mumbles Raiden. ‘He’ll come around,’ states Annori, poking what’s left of her Valgharan toast with her fork. ‘Friendship can be messy, but at least we tried something.’ ‘Speaking of helping friends…’ Kevin clears his throat. ‘I ran into an old acquaintance who asked me to help her out with a problem.’ ‘An old acquaintance, huh?’ asks Annori, wiggling her eyebrows. ‘What does she need?’ ‘I, uh, don’t know the details quite yet,’ says Kevin. ‘But it sounded important.’ ‘I’m sure we can manage another day or two here before heading to Osta Asari,’ says Raiden. ‘Assuming your secret girlfriend’s troubles are in the area.’ ‘She’s– Well, it’s more like…’ stammers Kevin, fidgeting with his hat. He sighs. ‘I think this may be something I should do alone. With her.’ He exchanges a silent glance with Annori. ‘Oh,’ she says quietly. ‘So… you’re not coming with us?’ ‘I haven’t decided,’ Kevin says hastily. ‘But maybe. It’s just that, with the investigation, and my mom, and everything… I feel like it’s been a bit much.’ ‘Yeah, of course,’ says Raiden, a small voice crack betraying him. ‘When would you have to leave?’ Annori asks. ‘I’m not sure,’ Kevin replies. ‘I’ll go find her and ask.’

Annori heads over to Master Valm and tells him what happened with Ara. Once again she implores him to keep an eye on Ara, and expresses her worry over the plushie. Valm reckons she overstates his involvement with the young swamp elf. ‘All he does is organize my shelves, it’s not as if we have long talks about his feelings.’ ‘Still,’ Annori urges. ‘Your store is likely the only place he feels at home. He’d listen to you.’ ‘I highly doubt that,’ sighs Valm.

Meanwhile, Raiden goes on an evening stroll and finds Ara lurking not too far from the inn. ‘Come to steal any more of my personal belongings?’ Ara asks gruffly, making sure Toady is properly secured on his belt. Raiden sits down on a nearby crate. ‘Actually, I came to apologize. You’re right, I shouldn’t have done what I did. But in my defense, I genuinely thought it would help you.’ ‘I don’t need help. Least of all from you.’ ‘I know.’ Raiden sighs. ‘And in trying to help, I made things worse – which seems to be par for the course for me lately. I’m sorry.’ The leaves of nearby trees rustle quietly in the wind. ‘I’ll let you land a couple punches, if it helps,’ suggests Raiden. Ara scoffs. ‘Look, I don’t normally do the apology part, I don’t know how it usually goes. I just…’ Raiden sighs. ‘Kevin may be leaving. So whatever you decide to do, I figured you should know.’ Ara looks up. ‘What do you mean, he’s leaving?’ ‘I don’t know, some quest with his girlfriend. Said he needed some time away from everything.’ ‘But… he’s the best of us.’ ‘I guess if people are leaving, there may not be much of an us left.’ They sit in silence for a little bit, until Raiden gets up and brushes off the dust. ‘Right. I should head to bed.’ ‘Thank you for telling me,’ says Ara. ‘If Kevin does decide to leave, can I… will you come get me?’ Raiden nods. ‘Wouldn’t want you to miss it.’

The next morning, Kevin goes to find Mel just outside the city. She explains that there’s a new village being constructed nearby, and the associated roads are scheduled to run right through her community. ‘We’ve tried talking with these assholes, but they never speak plainly,’ she grumbles. ‘That’s why we need you, you’re good with people and words and shit.’ ‘So you’re looking for diplomatic help,’ concludes Kevin. ‘Right, yeah,’ says Mel. ‘And, you know, someone to help knock them out if diplomacy doesn’t end up working. I can get you a pretty cool axe.’ Kevin coughs. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.’ Mel pats him hard on the shoulder. ‘So, Birdie, does that mean you’re coming?’ Kevin considers what a roller coaster these past few months have been, from the fun and exciting times he’s had with his new friends to the frequent brushes with death and the struggle of reconnecting with his mother knowing all he knows about her now. Suddenly he is overcome with exhaustion, deep within his bones. Distance, yes. Perspective. Perhaps that is what he needs. He looks at this gorgeous buff woman towering over him, and thinks about their history. The prospect of spending time with her again lights a spark inside his chest that had been drowned out by doubt and anger and alcohol lately. ‘I think it does,’ Kevin says, with a smile. ‘Great! This way!’ she turns her back to Anamdael. ‘I do need a moment to say goodbye to my friends!’ Kevin hastily adds. ‘Would you come with me?’ Mel eyes the city suspiciously, then lets her gaze rest on Kevin. ‘Fine.’

Annori spends the morning writing a letter to Kevin, and drawing a lovely portrait of them together. ‘That’s really good,’ says Raiden, joining her at the table with some breakfast. ‘You really captured his joyful eyes.’ ‘We haven’t seen a lot of those, lately,’ sighs Annori, folding up the drawing and sealing her letter. ‘Maybe going on a different adventure for a bit will bring them back.’ ‘Maybe,’ Raiden affirms. He holds her gaze for a bit. ‘How are you holding up?’ Annori turns over the letter in her hands a couple of times, but before she can answer a large shadow appears in the doorway. ‘Morning!’ hails Kevin, followed by Mel, who visibly radiates discomfort inside this cozy inn. ‘Mel, meet my friends! This is Annori, and he’s Raiden.’ ‘Hi,’ says Annori shakily. ‘What a truly colossal pleasure to meet you,’ says Raiden, trying not to stare. ‘Will you come sit with us?’ Annori moves around some chairs to make room. ‘Where’s Ara?’ asks Kevin, worried. ‘Did he…’ ‘He’ll be here!’ says Raiden, who quickly shoves the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and gets up. ‘If you’ll excuse me for a second.’ He barely makes it around the corner of the Majestic Mare before he runs into Ara. ‘Oh! I was just –’ Ara nods. ‘I saw them pass by the apothecary. She was hard to miss.’

Once they’re all gathered around the breakfast table, everyone has questions for Mel. Raiden soon learns she is not one for small talk. Annori asks if she’s ever seen a snork, and feels her bicep. Ara sees in Mel a kindred spirit of sorts, sharing her love of the wilderness and distaste for the city. ‘And the worst part is the noise!’ says Mel. ‘That’s why I can’t wait to get out of here with Birdie.’ The group falls silent for a moment. ‘I mean,’ says Kevin awkwardly, ‘we’ll keep in touch using the ear pieces, right?’ ‘Ah, they have quite a limited reach, actually,’ says Raiden. ‘Oh. But you’ll write to me when you reach a breakthrough in the investigation?’ ‘Absolutely,’ says Annori. ‘Well, unless the Masked Ones are on our trail.’ ‘Right. Well…’ Kevin looks around trying to find any sort of positive spin on this. ‘It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. Once we help Mels community and you find your mom I’m sure we’ll find each other and catch up.’ ‘Of course,’ says Annori, her voice shaking a little. ‘Oh, I have something for you!’ She gives him the bottle of perfume they stole from Falinels bathroom, plus the drawing and her letter. ‘This letter is for you to open whenever you feel really really shitty,’ she says. ‘So you’ll be reminded of good things.’ ‘Thanks, Annori,’ sighs Kevin. ‘Gosh, this is hard. I’m gonna miss you so much.’ He hugs her tightly, and she whispers in his ear: ‘I’ll try to keep the guys on the straight and narrow.’ As they break the hug, Annori holds his hands in hers for a little bit longer. She looks at Mel and adds: ‘Take good care of my little brother, alright?’ Kevin then turns to Raiden. ‘Thanks for everything, Raiden. You’re a better friend than you think you are.’ Raiden clears his throat. ‘You’re not so bad yourself. Remember, you’re one of the few people I’ve ever come back to.’ Kevin embraces him. ‘Be nice. And don’t make any dumb mistakes.’ ‘Oh come on,’ chuckles Raiden, half-sniffling. ‘You know I can’t promise that.’ Finally, Kevin addresses Ara. ‘I’m gonna miss you, Ara. Whatever happens, please remember that I care about you. We all do.’ Looking into Kevins eyes, Ara suddenly feels something shift inside him. It’s like a weight, however small, has been lifted, and colors seem a little brighter. He steps forward and swoops up Kevin into a big hug. ‘I’ve been told humans live longer than I thought they did,’ Ara mumbles. ‘You’d better find me again.’ ‘I will,’ promises Kevin, a little startled by this sudden affection. Once both his feet are on the floor again, Kevin grabs his things and gives them all one last tip of the hat. He then turns around and leaves with Mel, playing his lute while singing a familiar song about a strange group of misfits attempting to solve a murder.

Once they leave the outer edges of the city behind them, Mel turns to Kevin and asks: ‘How about we go a little faster?’ She steps back, shakes out her hair, and transforms into a massive wolf. ‘Woah!’ exclaims Kevin. The wolf gestures for him to get on its back, and together they run off into the forest, towards their own adventures.

Back at the Majestic Mare, a lone Wildshaped cat sits sadly on the rooftop. At the breakfast table, Raiden quietly drinks his coffee while Ara stares at him. ‘So?’ Ara inquires. ‘So what?’ echoes Raiden. ‘So, what do we do next? In the investigation?’ ‘What do – Are you for real right now?’ ‘Isn’t that what you do?’ urges Ara. ‘Take your little notes and connect the dots and make a plan?’ Raiden squints his eyes at him. ‘So you’re sticking around, then?’ ‘We still have a job to do,’ asserts Ara. ‘We owe it to Kevin to keep the investigation going. Do you want a hug as well?’ ‘A hug? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Are you –’ Ara throws a tea spoon at him. ‘Less talking, more plotting.’ ‘Ow! You mean right this second?’ ‘Get to it, quick-wit!’ ‘Alright, alright, damn.’ Raiden laughs. He rummages in his bag, takes out his notebook and starts leafing through the most recent entries. He glances over at Ara, who definitely seems a little better than he was last night.

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Raiden makes use of the halfling’s absence to scan the index for Amoth. It points him in the direction of a folder full of research papers concerning an expedition in Valghara in the far East. There was a discovery of an old sealed door with Amoths markings, interwoven with the markings of a Primordial entity who was considered to be Amoths nemesis. There’s also reports of leyline anomalies, especially from the past sixty years, in a different area every time. The first of such anomalies was reported by someone named Jamay Vineira, on Kadara, the volcanic island that also contains Osta Asari. They received a letter from a priest there who talked about a strange burst of leyline magic correlating to increased volcanic activity, leading to a horrible accident involving the head priest. Other places mentioned in this research are Valghara, Nospait and Usmar. Further following this lead, Raiden quickly uncovers a journal belonging to this Jamay Vineira. It was written in code, but the cypher has been conveniently cracked and provided in the margins by whoever submitted it to these archives. They had visited the temple on Kadara, which seemed to have been caved in on purpose, covering a way that for some reason lead further into the volcano. This door held symbols for Moradin and another primordial. These combinations are especially strange since the Primordials were in fact at war with the gods, as depicted by the grim paintings on the archive ceiling. It also pictures a truce struck between the two parties, as they appear to join forces to cast out or contain a dark shape. A book about the truce between gods and Primordials has been heavily magically redacted, blacking out a name. It does tell of temples, a seal, six champions and one who links them.

Around this time, the halfling girl returns, not noticing that Mouse!Nori sneaks back into the room with her. Ara finds himself without enough time to hide and in a panic throws up a magical disguise to make himself look like the first wizard he can think of: Vezal, the Arcane Advisor from Coldvale. ‘Oh,’ exclaims the girl, upon seeing him. ‘Master Vezal! I haven’t seen you in a while!’ Ara gives his Vezal impression a solid attempt, but quickly ends up rambling for too long. As the girl takes a tentative step backwards and appears to subtly reach for something, Raiden makes a snap decision and casts Sleep on her. ‘Nice save, kid,’ says the Fable, who only just manages to catch her and place her gently on the floor. Kevin helps her arrange her position to appear like she simply fell asleep while studying, so as to not raise suspicion. Not wanting to be here when she wakes up, the group hastily makes their exit.

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‘But you still know how?’ she presses. ‘Well, yeah.’ Kevin furrows his brow. ‘What’s going on?’ Mel looks off into the distance. ‘I might need you for something. Something urgent. But not here.’ She locks eyes with him. ‘Can you wrap up whatever you have going on and meet me in a couple days, outside the city?’ ‘Of course,’ he replies. ‘Anything for you.’ She pats him on the shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. ‘Ha! Have you not been doing your training, Birdie?’ Kevin puffs up his chest. ‘I’ll have you know I’ve battled my share of beasts since we last met!’ He tells Mel about the giant constrictor snake he felled. ‘How big are we talking?’ she says, eyes squinted. ‘Bigger than me?’ ‘Much bigger!’ Mel chuckles. She takes off his hat, ruffles through his hair a bit, and then puts it back. ‘Right. See you soon, then.’

Meanwhile, it has not gone unnoticed that Ara has not been spending his nights at the inn. One evening after dinner, Annori decides to see where he goes and follows him to the apothecary. She waits a while until she catches Master Valm alone, and asks him what Ara’s been doing all these nights. ‘I’m his friend,’ she explains, ‘and I’m worried about him.’ Valm tells her Ara’s mostly been moving boxes, reorganizing shelves, and resting. ‘Your friend is… How do I put this? He’s not unlike a lost puppy, at the moment,’ Valm sighs. ‘I have no desire or use for a puppy, but I am not so cruel as to turn away a creature in need when I can provide it the safety it seeks.’ Annori glances over to the apothecary, having only been somewhat reassured. She rummages through her purse and takes out a gold piece. ‘He has this stuffed toad — I assume you’ve seen it? He’s been talking to it.’ ‘Indeed,’ says Valm. ‘I thought it sweet at first, but it almost seems as though he’s been conversing with it. Does it have the ability to speak?’ ‘I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about it.’ Annori extends the gold piece to Valm. ‘Could you let me know if you catch him talking to the plushie?’ Valm takes the coin and observes it, bemused. ‘I could probably do that.’

That night, Annori wakes to find a silent shadow looming over Kevin, who is sleeping soundly. She instinctively goes to pull a knife, but when the figure turns towards her, she sees it’s Kevins mother. The Fable raises a finger to her lips, and places a small package into Kevins travel bag. She then places a hand on his cheek and forehead briefly, before disappearing through the open window soundlessly. Annori's curiosity is piqued and she quietly fishes out the package to take a look. It appears to be a letter. Not wanting to further encroach on the privacy of her friend, she decides to put it back unopened. Kevin sinks a little deeper into his blankets and sleeps on, undisturbed. It occurs to Annori that this is the first time in a long time that she’s seen him remotely at peace. The weight of worry presses down heavy on her shoulders, now that so much of their group is struggling, but she quickly shakes it off — she can’t afford to feel overwhelmed right now. They have a dangerous heist to pull off tomorrow, and the Fable had instructed them all to make sure they were well rested. She turns her back to Kevin and tries to get some sleep.

The next day, the group makes its way to the Academy. It’s late in the afternoon, so most students are headed home from a long day of studying, but the library will be open for a little while longer. The library is the central building of the Academy, with tall painted ceilings and countless mahogany shelves. Every library and archive in Praximar is technically a temple to the goddess of knowledge, Ioun, and contains an altar with a perpetual flame that represents both the necessity and the danger of knowledge. The Fable, who is magically disguised as an unremarkable white guy with glasses, instructs them to spread out in smaller groups so as to not gain too much attention. They walk around for a bit, looking at random books and scrolls, until Raiden wanders in the direction of the altar to take a closer look. As he steps onto the dais, the others see him suddenly disappear from view. Where did you go? asks Annori through their new Pearls of Discord. What do you mean? says Raiden. I’m right here, at the altar. That must be the cloaking spell Xadrynk talked about. Try waving! says Annori. I’m not waving, we’re trying to be inconspicuous, remember? Come over! Raiden inspects the altar. The statue of Ioun holds a flame in her cupped hands, around waist height. While the others step up to the altar beside him one by one, he studies the flame and holds his hand up to it — it definitely feels real. ‘There’s no visible mechanism or anything that could indicate a lock,’ he muses, stepping aside to make room for Ara. ‘What do you think-’ At that moment, the tile he steps on sinks ever so slightly down and produces a barely audible ‘click’. The flame at the altar lowers, revealing a bright burning script on the palms on the statues hands.

Them istroem vewemas concem ealem ed noem twithem out reme asemons. Beem wisem eaemn demt akeem oemn lywemha temy ouem areemn otaem fraem id toemlo emse. Whem atkem nowem leem demgewi llyem ougi veem upemfo riemt ? Only then can you enter.

This is not a language any of them recognize. ‘If it’s not a language, it could be a cipher,’ says Raiden. Kevin copies down the words on a scrap piece of paper. ‘Huh, lot of em in there,’ he remarks. ‘Could mean that it’s important,’ notes Annori. ‘Em is nothing, though,’ says Ara. ‘It’s meaningless.’ Raiden squints at the message. ‘You’re right,’ he says. ‘So what if we remove all the meaningless ems?’ He slowly reads out the words again, removing all the instances of em, and Kevin writes along, revealing the decoded message:

This trove was concealed not without reasons. Be wise and take only what you are not afraid to lose. What knowledge will you give up for it? Only then can you enter.

‘Now comes the part where we figure out what it means,’ exhales Raiden. ‘All I know is, with Ioun, you always have to be careful about the exact wording,’ offers The Fable. ‘Does that mean that the knowledge we offer will be lost to us?’ questions Raiden, remembering their encounter with Ishmael the witch who also traded in memories and other such intangible possessions. ‘Exchanging one bit of knowledge for another doesn’t seem very conducive to the cause of learning.’ ‘I wonder what counts as knowledge, exactly.’ Annori rummages through her bag and pulls out the letter they acquired on the Pathfinder, in which a person named Moth calls for their lover to meet them in the city. ‘The owner of this letter doesn’t, uh, need it anymore,’ she adds, and she puts it in the flame. They all watch the paper curl up and blacken, until none of it is left. Nothing else seems to happen. ‘Worth a shot,’ shrugs Raiden. ‘Maybe it has to be a piece of knowledge that’s related to what we’re trying to find,’ says Kevin. ‘An excellent thought,’ says The Fable, unable to suppress the glint of pride in her disguised eyes. Raiden reaches into his bag, his fingers quickly finding the notebook that holds all their collected research so far, and the spellbook that holds his mothers writing in the margins — two things he is not ready to see go up in flames. He hesitates. Then he finds something messily crumpled together at the bottom of his bag. They are the papers he used to trace over the glyphs in the ritual room in Drengar. The fire accepts them eagerly, flames licking their hungry tongues across the rough charcoal lines. For a moment it seems as though that is it, but then there is a small stony noise as the statue turns and gives way to a winding staircase. The group excitedly but quietly descend, and emerge into a second library underneath the first. The design is similar, although the ceilings are much lower and the paintings on them depict much more sinister scenes of gods battling hellish creatures, shielding themselves from mortals, and being slain by demons. The secret archives stretch out before them, dark, quiet, and with tense expectations in the air.

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‘What did Nefissar send you to do outside the swamp?’‘That is confidential.’ ‘Then go and do whatever it is, and stop bothering me.’ ‘What makes you so sure I’m not already doing it?’ Valm sighs. ‘Look, when you report back to Nefissar, tell him I’m still working on what he asked me.’ Ara raises his eyebrows. ‘He’s the one who sent you, too?’ ‘I volunteered,’ Valm corrects him. ‘Why would anyone do that?’ Valm adjusts his grip on the box and turns around. ‘You annoy me, Kresh. See you around.’ ‘That’s the closest I’ve felt to home since I left,’ remarks Ara. Valm stops in his tracks, hesitates, then turns back towards him. He looks Ara up and down and his strict gaze softens slightly. ‘Alright, come along then.’ Together they go to Master Valms herbalist shop. ‘Please do not mention my involvement with Nefissar to your friends,’ instructs Valm. ‘Acquaintances,’ Ara corrects him, admiring all the items lining the shelves. ‘I’m beginning to understand why Nefissar sent you,’ sighs Valm, as he puts the box away. ‘Before the war, the swamp was beautiful. A beacon of knowledge, that we shared with others. We didn’t use to be this isolated.’ ‘It is still beautiful,’ says Ara. ‘It’s just that adapting to life outside the swamp is… hard.’ Valm looks at him for a moment. ‘You are welcome to stay here and meditate, if you need time away from your… acquaintances.’ ‘Can I rearrange your shelves so they’re more efficient?’ Ara spends the evening moving items around, creating order in the chaos, putting everything in its optimal place and enjoying the sense of comfort that brings him. It reminds me of helping out his dad in the workshop. When he steps into Valms meditation space, he is met with an overwhelmingly familiar scent. The room is filled with specific plants and flowers native to his homeland, and enchanted with the appropriate noises, too. As he settles in for the night, he is overcome with a deep sense of calm. For a moment, he forgets all about Toady. For the first time since their whole adventure began, Ara genuinely feels at home.

The little bell above the door of Reshin’s Quaint Curios rings again, and Annori and Raiden enter. They’re here to purchase those telepathic earpieces Raiden spotted before. ‘Being able to communicate quietly would greatly improve our odds at our upcoming, uh, project, don’t you think?’ says Raiden, pointing out the ‘pearls of discord’ in their alcove. ‘For sure,’ Annori agrees. ‘And I’d get to talk to you all whenever I want!’ ‘That, too,’ Raiden chuckles. Sadly, despite the teams best efforts, Reshin can’t be convinced to give them a discount on the set. It seems like Ara already cashed in all the goodwill Findire’s name could give them while getting his shield. They split the cost for four ear pieces evenly between them, and walk back to the Majestic Mare. Annori tells Raiden about her suspicions around Ara’s strange plushie. ‘Oh it’s definitely weird, right?’ he replies. ‘I wasn’t gonna bring it up, because friend parole, but I believe I saw him talking to it a couple times? I assumed it was a comfort thing, since he’s been upset. But you think it may be something more?’ ‘I don’t know, I just get a bad feeling,’ Annori ponders. ‘Plus, I asked the Wildmother, and she seemed… worried? A little?’ ‘Yikes,’ says Raiden. ‘Can’t have that.’ ‘If only I could look at it a little more closely,’ says Annori, putting her earpiece in place. ‘Perhaps I could learn more about what’s going on with that thing.’ ‘Hmm, right.’ Raiden kicks a pebble a little further down the street. ‘Normally I wouldn’t be opposed to stealing a toy from a child, of course. But since this particular child is supposed to be in peak condition by the end of the week in order for us to not get arrested or killed, I’m… hesitant to do anything that could set him off.’ ‘Yeah,’ sighs Annori. ‘And I guess that also rules out talking to him about it.’ ‘Maybe, for now,’ confirms Raiden. ‘This heist is no joke, we gotta be careful.’

Annori also sends a letter to her mom, addressed to the ‘Nightingale’ theatre in Osta Asari where Remington had last seen her. We’re on our way, please stay where you are, she writes. I miss you. She adds a little sketch of the party, so her mom knows who to look out for. After all, the last time they saw each other Annori was only five years old – what if they don’t recognize each other anymore? She quickly tries to shake off that nervous feeling, seals the letter and hands it to the person at the post office.

In the meantime, Kevin continues to spend his days drinking away his troubles. But he repays Raiden and Annori for the earpiece, and agrees to join Raiden for a visit to Xadrynk at the Academy. On their way there, Raiden nervously eyes the bards unsteady tread. ‘How did that talk with your mother go?’ he asks. ‘Did she say something upsetting?’ ‘No. Yes. Ugh, you know,’ Kevin gestures vaguely. ‘Mom stuff.’ Raidens expression hardens. ‘Right. Mom stuff.’ They cross the bridge to the Academy district. ‘It’s just that, you know, with the heist coming up,’ Raiden says quietly. ‘With all our lives at stake, It’d be great if you weren’t… this.’ ‘Pfsh. I’m fine.’ ‘Yes, you keep saying that. But I keep thinking about the other day when we had a similar assignment, and you and Annori were hammered, and the whole thing ended up failing miserably.’ ‘Hey now,’ Kevin objects. ‘I seem to remember it was you who set off that alarm. Annori and I had a delightful time.’ ‘I just-– whatever,’ grumbles Raiden. ‘Forget I said anything.’

Xadrynk is easy to find, and happy to see them. He gladly announces that he’s arranged a way to compensate for his lost time, and is back on track to finish his studies. Spotting Kevins condition, Xadrynk hands him a small vial. Immediately after ingesting its contents, Kevin feels his head clear. ‘Hells,’ says Raiden, impressed. ‘We are gonna need some more of those, if you’ve got ‘em. That stuff is fantastic.’ ‘Yeah,’ mumbles Kevin, feeling the anger and sadness he’s been trying so hard to avoid suddenly return at full force. ‘Fantastic.’ ‘Sure, sure,’ Xadrynk says, rummaging in a cupboard. ‘Whatever you need. Without you, I would still be croaking in that dark temple.’ ‘You mostly have Annori to thank for that,’ says Raiden, and he sits down on one of the desks. ‘But I did come to ask you for a favor, if you’re up for it. It’s a bit of a peculiar request, I hope you don’t mind.’ ‘Not at all! What’s on your mind?’ asks Xadrynk cheerfully, as he takes two more vials from the shelves. ‘We have heard rumors about a hidden archive within the library,’ says Raiden, a bit more quietly. ‘Would you know of a way inside?’ Xadrynks eyes go wide. ‘How did– Where…? No one is supposed to know about this.’ ‘So you’ve been?’ Xadrynk pauses briefly. ‘Once. With my professor. There was some… precarious information about plants that only grow on holy sites, I got special dispensation.’ Raiden leans in a bit. ‘Was it trapped? Guarded? Protected?’ ‘I mean, probably? I was with the professor, so we didn’t…’ Xadrynk furrows his brow as he thinks. ‘I remember some kind of illusory field around the entrance, obscuring people trying to get inside. And to enter – I couldn’t see very well, but the professor appeared to rummage with something at the statue of Ioun in the library. Some sort of puzzle, I think.’ ‘A puzzle?’ Raidens eyes light up with excitement for a moment. ‘You’re not trying to get inside or anything, right?’ asks Xadrynk nervously. ‘If anyone found out, I could get expelled.’ ‘Of course not!’ says Raiden, more loudly this time as he sits back. ‘Nothing of the sort. Wouldn’t dream of it.’ Xadrynk visibly relaxes a little. ‘Oh, good. That’s uh, yes. Here, take these!’ He presses two more vials of hangover-cure into Kevins hands. ‘You have our thanks, friend,’ says Raiden as he stands up from the desk. He plucks one of the vials from Kevins grasp and puts it away swiftly. ‘You never know when this might save a life.’ ‘Please don’t tell anyone what we spoke about,’ squeaks Xadrynk as they exit. ‘Why, what did we speak about?’ Raiden winks and closes the door behind him.

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The door opens and Raiden enters, carrying a big pile of blankets and pillows from the other room. ‘Okay, so, I’m not familiar with cuddle pile etiquette but I’m not gonna lie — that giant dress looks pretty comfortable to sleep on.’ ‘Ohh! Falinels dress!’ exclaims Annori. ‘Do you think it fits me?’ She carefully puts it on. It doesn’t close all the way in the back, but the fabric feels soft and airy and the layers move gracefully when she twirls around.  ‘You look gorgeous!’ says Kevin, who draws a quick sketch in Annori’s sketchbook, managing to capture the movement perfectly.  ‘Doesn’t hold a candle to the dress you wore tonight, though,’ remarks Raiden.  Making themselves comfortable on the floor, they fall asleep amidst the pillows.

Morning is already nearing its end when Ara slowly blinks out of his meditation. It takes him a second to remember where he is, but then he recognizes Findire’s chambers. Pleasant memories of the previous night come flooding back and he stretches his muscles. When he turns around towards the den where Findire had been resting, he finds it empty. He soon spots a note left on the table, along with a pouch.  ‘Dearest Ara, I did not want to leave you alone again so soon, but I’m afraid an urgent matter has come up and I had to depart for Nospait immediately. You’ll find the remainder of your payment on the table. Talk soon.’   The happy buzz of their night together is washed away by a wave of disappointment, a feeling that catches Ara off guard. He picks up the heavy coin purse, containing what must be 4.000 gold pieces, and anger bubbles up inside his chest. Was this all just a transaction to Findire? Did he get used?  A small voice pipes up in the back of his mind. ‘I’m sorry. They left you, but you’ll always have me.’ The voice of his toad plushie — who is still at the Majestic Mare with the rest of his belongings. Filled with rage, Ara gets dressed, takes the money and leaves. Through the main hall, this time. Here he runs into Falinel.  ‘Ah, Findire said you’d be here,’ she says when she spots him. ‘Is everything—’ ‘I’m leaving,’ barks Ara, as he pushes open the big front doors and exits the Talthanryl mansion.

Breakfast is served at the Majestic Mare, as Annori, Kevin and Raiden recount anecdotes from the gala, and wonder about what they’ll be doing next. The archive heist the Fable asked them to do is about a week away. Raiden is building a wobbly tower out of silver spoons. ‘Enjoy those while you have them,’ says Annori. ‘Is that a threat, Sneezeweed?’ ‘It’s a challenge!’  Raiden laughs. ‘Maybe we should challenge Ara sometime,’ says Annori. ‘We could challenge him to say only positive things for a whole day,’ snickers Kevin.  ‘Ah, but the thing is: I think Ara is convinced the things he says are positive,’ muses Raiden. ‘He’s taking his sweet time getting back here,’ says Kevin. ‘That must mean the night went well…!’  At that moment, Ara appears in the doorway, radiating anger. Without a word, he passes his friends at the table, storms upstairs and slams the door behind him. 

The three of them exchange confused and worried looks. A quick round of rock paper scissors determines Annori is the one to go and talk to him. ‘Ara…?’ she asks carefully at the door. ‘Did something happen?’  ‘Fuck off.’ She opens the door a tiny bit, and conjures some spirits in the shape of cute toads on the bed in an attempt to cheer him up. Ara is pacing around the room, awkwardly putting on armor with one hand while clutching the plushie to his chest with the other.  ‘I brought you breakfast,’ she offers. Ara whips around to face her, and seems to make a great effort to change his intense expression and posture after a fraction of a second. ‘Not hungry,’ he glowers.  Annori puts the plate of pancakes on the desk and takes a couple of steps towards him as he tries to fasten the straps on his bracers one-handed. ‘Let me help you with that.’ She reaches for the bracer, but as soon as she touches him Ara flinches and pulls back. Some of the toads quickly jump away onto the floor. ‘I don’t want help,’ he scolds. ‘Leave me alone.’ ‘Okay,’ says Annori, quite startled by the sudden movement and Ara’s intensity. ‘We’ll be downstairs if you need us, alright?’

‘We should talk to Findire,’ offers Kevin, once Annori has reported back. ‘Maybe they can tell us what happened. Who has the sending stone?’ ‘I do!’ Annori rummages through her bag. ‘Oh, neat,’ says Raiden. ‘I thought I was gonna have to steal that off of Ara.’ Through the stone, Annori asks: ‘What did you do to Ara? He’s all angry and broken and he doesn’t wanna tell us anything.’ Immediately there comes a worried response: ‘Why, what happened? I had to go to Nospait for an emergency, when I left everything was fine. I’ll call him.’ Upstairs, Ara hears Findire’s voice in his head. ‘Are you alright, dear? I’m sorry I had to leave you, someone killed the princess of Nospait.’ ‘Fuck you,’ responds Ara. ‘And fuck you too!’ he yells at the toads hopping around the room. ‘You’re not even real.’

A little while later, Ara comes back down the stairs. He is clad in more armor than he ever was before, and has donned his black cloak. He throws the heavy coin pouch onto the table and walks outside without a word.  ‘Just when he was starting to open up a bit,’ Kevin laments. ‘Let’s hope it’ll blow over soon,’ sighs Annori. ‘You know he flinched when I touched him? It was so strange, he wasn’t like that before.’ ‘Is anyone, uh,’ Raiden clears his throat and gestures towards the huge amounts of money on the table. ‘Do we wanna — should I…?’  ‘Oh, right,’ says Annori. ‘We should probably divide that.’ Raiden starts deftly counting out four even piles of 1.000 gold. Annori takes Ara’s share for now. ‘Um,’ says Kevin, ‘so now what do we do?’ Annori thinks for a second. ‘We still have to return Falinels dress, perhaps once we’re there she can tell us more about what happened last night?’  ‘Someone should stay here to keep an eye on Ara,’ suggests Raiden. ‘See if he doesn’t do anything stupid.’ ‘Great idea, thanks for volunteering!’ says Annori, gathering her things. ‘Walked right into that one.’ Raiden sighs. ‘Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll make sure he doesn’t see me. But don’t stay away for too long.’

The guards at the Radiant Gardens know their faces well enough by now, so Annori and Kevin can pass without any further questions. Falinel is pleased to get the dress back.  ‘It’s really nice and comfy,’ says Annori. ‘I put it on briefly, nothing happened to it!’ ‘Well then,’ Falinel smirks. ‘I guess we can forgo the delivery fee.’ ‘Now you can wear it to next year’s gala,’ says Kevin. ‘Since no one has seen it yet.’ ‘Oh, I intend to,’ says Falinel. ‘Thank you for returning it to me. And thanks again for helping me resolve some of the tension with my sibling.’  ‘Speaking of,’ says Kevin, ‘I think Findire kind of broke Ara.’ ‘Ah, yes, how is your friend?’ ‘Murderous,’ states Annori. Falinel sighs. ‘Findire had to leave in a hurry: something big and secret happened in Nospait, that is all I know. If Fin was cold to your friend, it was because diplomacy barred him from sharing more.’ ‘I still feel like they could have been a little more tactful about it,’ mumbles Annori. ‘They should know Ara well enough by now to know this would upset him.’ ‘Oh, I agree,’ says Falinel. ‘For all their charm, my sibling can be quite brash sometimes. I’m sorry it’s caused you distress. If I learn more that might explain the situation, I will let you know.’

Ara patrols the streets of Anamdael, making a mental map of his environment in an attempt to occupy his racing mind. This alley connects to that street, these flagstones are worn out more on the left side than the right, these grasses indicate water nearby… Still, adrenaline flows through his veins, and he can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched. He doesn’t see anyone especially suspicious, but his instincts have rarely led him astray. When the feeling persists, Ara starts moving more erratically to try and shake off any pursuers. Eventually he ducks into an obscured alleyway, where he uses his Mask of the Wild to melt into the shadows. For a couple of seconds nothing happens, and Ara considers whether paranoia got the better of him. Then, the familiar silhouette of Raiden appears in the alley, moving quietly but swiftly. The rogue doesn’t appear to see Ara there, and peers out into the crowd on the other side, to no avail. ‘No, no, no, no, no,’ he mutters softly. He whips around and for a moment Ara is certain he’s been spotted, but Raiden’s gaze darts along the walls and instead finds something to climb. That shifty fucking asshole, he has some nerve following him. Ara feels his muscles tighten when Raiden moves towards him. Two steps, maybe three, and he could take him down. It would be so easy. But before he can decide, Raiden has clambered up the side of the building and onto the rooftop, out of sight. Ara remains motionless in his spot, considering his options.  Suddenly, Raidens voice sounds in his head. ‘Well… you have me at a disadvantage. How much danger am I in, exactly?’ Anger and contempt rise up in Ara’s chest. ‘Why are you stalking me? What do you want?’ A short pause. Then, another magical message latches on to their familiarity, though Raiden doesn’t know the direction he is speaking in. ‘Something’s wrong with you. I’d like to know what happened.’ ‘Actually, I feel better than ever,’ snaps Ara. ‘Well, that’s terrifying,’ Raidens voice sounds, with that annoying little tone of his. ‘So are you gonna leave?’ ‘Are you going to follow?’ ‘Afraid so.’ Ara exhales forcefully through his nose. He doesn’t utter a response, but mentally grabs hold of the tentative connection the message spell provides and traces it back to its sender, casting Hunters Mark on Raiden. He then turns around and heads back out into the streets. He nervously strokes the toad plushie on his belt.  ‘Yes, I’m here,’ the plushie whispers. ‘I did not kill him,’ says Ara in his mind. ‘Should I have?’ ‘He is of no consequence.’ ‘He is also my friend… sort-of,’ adds Ara. ‘Is he?’ inquires the plushie. ‘Findire was also your friend, but they left you all the same. You do not need them.’ ‘I thought I did, for a moment,’ Ara admits, ‘but now I don’t know.’ ‘It is easier for me to talk to you now,’ the plushie assures him. ‘You have me. You will always have me.’

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After Findire departs, Ara looks around for other elves and spots a couple of drow. Trying not to insert himself into their conversation but still look available, he lingers in their general area for a while until they ask him a question. ‘My my, a swamp elf at a gala, a rare sight indeed,’ one of the drow notes. ‘What brought you here, friend?’ ‘I’m with Ambassador Talthanryl,’ replies Ara.  ‘Ah, how are they lately?’ ‘Great! Healthy,’ Ara adds a little awkwardly. The drow explain their leader was invited by the duchess herself, but sent a delegation in their stead. ‘Though I’m sure the concept is foreign to you, with the swamps borders having been closed for so long.’  ‘I don’t represent everyone from the swamp,’ replies Ara.  ‘Just so,’ says the other drow. ‘I wonder, what is your opinion on the proposed trade route then?’ ‘My opinion on the matter is unimportant,’ Ara states, quickly navigating back to the subject that connects them. ‘How are things in the Underdark? I hear there have been problems near the border?’ ‘Oh, nothing we can’t handle,’ declares the first drow. ‘We’ve had to chase away some poachers that came for moopleberry cuttings. But there’s been an increase in orc and illithid sightings, and the other day there was even a beholder trying to set up shop!’ ‘What was it selling?’ inquires Ara. The drow exchange confused looks. ‘I apologize, common is not my first language.’  ‘Nor is it ours,’ replies the second drow in undercommon. ‘Do you speak this one?’ ‘A little,’ Ara says in undercommon, ‘though my accent is pretty bad.’ There is a noticeably pleasant shift in the drows attitude towards Ara as they continue their conversation in undercommon. They introduce themselves as Ilvina and Morzad, tell him about their home city, and how they came to Anamdael to talk about the increasing amount of dangers in the Underdark. At some point, Ilvina seems about to say something, but Morzad interrupts them with a gesture.  In an attempt to cut the tension, Ara coughs and asks: ‘So… if you were a beholder, what would you sell?’

At the other side of the room, Raiden talks moopleberries with Melvin, who seems to focus most on the thrilling dangers of acquiring them while being hunted by lethal swamp elves. Eventually Raiden decides to wander around some more. He’s trying to overhear how people are talking about Findire, but doesn’t catch anything particularly interesting. Their sister seems the more prevalent topic of conversation tonight.  ‘Young man!’ Raiden startles as he is suddenly grabbed by the arm by an older elven lady in a big dress. ‘Are you eavesdropping?’ ‘I, uh…’ She pulls him in close with a twinkle in her eye and says: ‘Because so was I. Come! Dance with me and tell me everything you heard.’ Amused, Raiden lets himself be pulled onto the dance floor and tries to remember the paces Kevin taught him. He tells the lady the rumors he’s heard, none of which seem to interest her much. ‘Everybody here hates everybody,’ she says. ‘If you dig deep enough at events like these, you’ll always find someone plotting someone else’s demise. And it’s no wonder! I heard there are people from Feirenwald here. Can you believe it? Such audacity!’ ‘No way! From all the way up north?’ Raiden replies, slightly anxious about his own Feirenwaldian heritage.  ‘Nowadays, folks seem to have all but forgotten about the war,’ she sighs disapprovingly. ‘Me, I’m not so sure we should be moving on from that. I lived it, and I do not have the luxury of forgetting what they did to us.’  ‘You mentioned everyone here has a rival,’ Raiden changes the subject. ‘Who here is plotting your demise?’ She laughs heartily. ‘A bold question! I like you.’ ‘A person is only as interesting as their rivals, wouldn’t you say?’ ‘Quite so. Do you have a rival, young man?’ Raiden nods towards Ara, who is talking with the drow. ‘That swamp elf over there, I’d say he counts. Though he would argue the rivalry is one-sided.’ He twirls the older elven lady underneath his arm. ‘What about Ambassador Talthanryl, who would you say their rivals are? Any skeletons in their big fancy closet?’ ‘The Ambassador?’ She thinks for a second. ‘They are very good at keeping their secrets. If they have any skeletons, they remain well hidden. They know how to diffuse tension. When they want to,’ she adds, looking over at Falinel standing alone in a corner. 

Approaching said corner is Annori, though not quite as inconspicuously as she would have liked.  ‘Sorry,’ she says, when she sees Falinel has spotted her. ‘About the dress, I mean. This one looks nice, too!’ ‘That’s not what this is about,’ Falinel exhales.  ‘You shouldn’t care what everyone else here thinks,’ says Annori. ‘They’re all so snooty.’ Falinel smiles a little despite herself. They spend a couple of moments watching the party from afar. ‘I would like the dress back, eventually.’ She says after a while. ‘It was really well made and one of a kind.’ ‘Sure!’ replies Annori. ‘Hey, you can use it to embarrass someone else at next year’s gala!’ From the crowd, Findire emerges holding two drinks. Realizing they’re not supposed to know each other, Annori loudly says: ‘... And those frills, ridiculous!’ ‘Thank you, Annori,’ Fin says with a smile. ‘Would you mind giving us a moment?’ Annori leaves the two of them, while finding a hidden spot behind a pillar where she can quietly overhear them. Nothing is said, however, and when she leans past the pillar she sees Findire extend one of the drinks to their sister. After a couple of seconds, Falinel accepts the glass, and they share a drink in silence. It appears some sort of truce has been reached. 

Kevin, in the meantime, is having a far less enjoyable evening. Now that he’s left on his own amidst the crowd, thoughts of the past few days start spiralling in his head. The memory of almost dying to the stirges is a painful one, and a hard truth to accept when he hadn’t ever lost a fight before. Apparently he is more fragile than he imagined himself to be. And then there’s the matter of his mom, and the conflicting feelings of seeing her again. Both comforting and difficult, both familiar and unknown. If she was dishonest about such a big part of her life… what else could she have lied about? Is Valgharan toast even her favorite food? He retreats to the terrace, trying to have his anxiety attack in relative peace. He is startled by a slap on his shoulder. ‘Hey, Kevin! Have you seen Annori anywhere?’ Raiden joins him on the terrace. ‘There’s this guy who keeps talking about moopleberry juice, she would really… Are you alright?’ He narrows his eyes. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something. Don’t tell me there’s another specter at this party.’ ‘Ah, no, I’m fine,’ lies Kevin. ‘Just needed some air. I think Annori is on the dance floor somewhere.’ ‘Right, yeah,’ says Raiden, not fully content with that excuse. ‘Can I get you anything from the snack table? There’s this pasty, I think it has pistachios in it? It is exquisite. I can grab you one or two. Or seven.’ ‘Seven?’ ‘Excellent choice. One moment.’ Raiden swivels around to leave but Kevin interrupts him.  ‘Hey, Raiden? I’m really glad you’re back.’ Raiden is puzzled for a moment but then flashes a genuine smile. ‘Thanks,’ he says. ‘Me too.’

While Raiden is at the snack table trying to stack seven pasties on top of each other, Annori taps him on the arm.  ‘Wanna dance?’  He happily lets himself be dragged onto the dance floor and twirls Annori around. ‘Picked up any fun rumors?’ she asks. Raiden, promptly forgetting what he was trying to find her for in the first place, tells her about everything but the moopleberry guy.  ‘So, is the gala everything you dreamed it would be?’ he asks her. ‘Are you having a good time?’ ‘Honestly, it’s a little boring with all these snooty people,’ admits Annori, as she steps around him. ‘I could liven it up with a wild shape or two, but I’ve been on my best behavior.’ ‘Such restraint!’ laughs Raiden, taking her hand. ‘Well done. I, too, have hardly stolen any silverware. We’re the perfect party guests.’ Annori’s eyes light up. ‘I mean. We could take some of the silverware. These people have way too much stuff anyway.’ They step apart and then together again. ‘I’m listening,’ he says in a low voice. ‘Let’s make it a game,’ suggests Annori, her tail swooping playfully to the side. ‘Whoever has taken the most silverware by the end of the night, wins.’ ‘You’re on, Sneezeweed.’ 

Twenty minutes later Raiden taps her on the shoulder. ‘So, how did you do?’ ‘Hm? Do what?’  Raiden meaningfully wiggles his arm, which makes a suspicious clinking noise.  ‘Oh!’ Annori exclaims. ‘So that’s why I’ve been holding this!’ She waves a single spoon around. ‘Sorry, the band started playing a song I liked, and then I was going to get a drink and I forgot.’ Raiden laughs. ‘Perfect. Well. To be fair, by now there aren’t many spoons left for you to take.’ ‘Congrats, I guess I lost!’ Annori pats him on the chest, which jingles subtly. Seeing Raiden have a genuinely good time doesn’t feel like a loss to her at all. ‘Do you think they serve juice at this party?’ ‘Juice!’ Raiden calls out, suddenly remembering. ‘Oh my gods, Annori, you have to talk to Melvin!’ 

Melvin the moopleberry guy is happy to tell Annori all about his exploits, and is impressed with her knowledge on the subject. When she was in the swamp, Annori took a liking to the berries, and so her mentor had her study the plant in great detail. She excitedly offers to be Melvins business partner, since she could probably figure out the proper conditions to grow the berries outside the swamp. The prospect of no longer having thrilling near-death encounters with dangerous swamp elves in the acquisition of his wares seems to dampen Melvins excitement about their shared venture greatly. Annori quickly realizes this is not someone who’s in it for the juice, and excuses herself from the conversation. 

The four of them reconvene near the dance floor. ‘Moople guy was a bust,’ sighs Annori.  ‘Bummer,’ says Raiden, shoving another pistachio pasty into his mouth.  ‘Moople guy?’ repeats Ara suspiciously. Annori points Melvin out to him, who promptly hides behind a dragonborn at the sight of a swamp elf.  ‘Maybe one day, when this is all done and we’ve all… saved our moms, I guess? I’d like to settle down somewhere and run a moopleberry farm.’ Annori fantasizes. ‘Did you have a good time?’ Findire approaches them. They all mumble various words of confirmation. ‘I think I’m just about ready to head home,’ they state, then look over to Ara. ‘Care to join me?’ Ara offers his arm, the tips of his ears glowing red, and together they leave the rest of the group behind as they head for the Radiant Gardens.  ‘I’m afraid I won’t have much time to spend together, going forward,’ says Findire. ‘My job, it demands… dedication.’ ‘I expect we’ll be leaving the city shortly anyway,’ says Ara. ‘So I guess our paths just happened to cross when they did.’ ‘Well,’ says Findire, walking him up to the Talthanryl mansion. ‘I hope they keep crossing.’ Ara places a hand on Fins shoulder and one on their cheek. Fin smiles. ‘Do you want to come inside?’ ‘Oh gods yes.’ Ara kisses them.

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‘That was amazing!’ says Annori, while they enjoy the snacks and drinks being served to them by wait staff. ‘Does everyone in the city get invited?’ ‘Ah, well, no,’ Fin discloses. ‘The manor is quite large, but the Duchess does not have space to host the entire city, I’m afraid.’ ‘Hm,’ says Annori, not entirely pleased with that answer.  ‘Perhaps you could discuss it with her tonight,’ suggests Fin with a smile. ‘I’m sure she’d be happy to hear your ideas.’ ‘Maybe I will,’ declares Annori.   ‘Whether they attend or not, the opening of the terrace is a night full of festivities for most people in Anamdael,’ Fin explains. ‘You’ll find many parties all over town.’

Kevin observes Ara, who seems not quite so at ease here as Annori and doesn’t know what to do with his hands. Findire stays close to him and every now and then lays a gentle hand on Ara’s arm to point something out to him. Kevin takes two drinks from a passing waiter and offers them to the pair.  ‘Here, to ease the mind a little,’ he tells Ara.  Completely stone-faced, Ara asks: ‘Is it drugged?’ ‘What? No!’ exclaims Kevin, aghast. ‘Wooow,’ murmurs Raiden through a mouth full of snacks. ‘Can’t believe you’d accuse my man Kevin of such a thing.’ ‘I’m sure anyone who would do that only has Ara’s best interest at heart,’ mumbles Annori, flustered. ‘Here, if you’re truly worried,’ Findire switches Ara’s glass with their own, raises it in a quick toast and takes a sip.  ‘I wasn’t — You don’t… Let’s just forget the whole thing,’ Kevin stammers as he takes the glass back out of Ara’s hand and knocks it back in one big gulp. 

Thankfully, any further awkwardness is interrupted when they are ushered into the nearest glass pillar. Some sort of spell moves the platform they are standing on and they ascend, granting them a stunning view of Anamdael. They do indeed see many places in the city lit up with lanterns for festivities of their own. Stepping out onto the terrace, they see most of the guests are moving into the large ballroom inside the manor. Raiden overhears some of them whispering about Falinel — it appears she is late, while Astrid is already here. ‘So, what do we say when people ask us who we are?’ wonders Annori.  ‘Just tell them you’re here as my guests, and no one will bother you with further questions,’ states Findire, as they scan the crowd. ‘Ah, I will have to leave you for a while, there are people I need to converse with. Please — enjoy yourselves. You’ve earned it.’ They briefly bow their head with a smile before turning around to mingle, leaving the group to their own devices. 

As they enter the ballroom, Kevin is struck with a feeling of awe and nostalgia. It’s been a while since he was at a formal event, and longer still since he was anywhere this fancy. He turns to Annori to ask her to dance, but is interrupted with a tap on the shoulder. He turns around to find a girl of about seventeen.  ‘Oh, sorry mister, I was wondering if you would dance with me?’  ‘Of course, I’d love nothing more,’ replies Kevin in all his chivalry. He guides her onto the dance floor where they share some elegant steps and polite conversation. The girl is named Lorelei, and came here from Feirenwald with her mother.  ‘It’s my first time here, I’ve always wanted to go,’ she explains. ‘My friends have been encouraging me to go up to you — I just really loved your outfit.’ When the next song starts, Annori excitedly cuts in and she and Kevin enjoy themselves with a more playful strut. 

Suddenly, murmurs start to ripple through the crowd. Falinel arrives, wearing a truly gorgeous gown. A gown that, regrettably, she wore to last year’s gala. Whispers spread. ‘What happened to her?’ ‘Is that last season’s dress?’ ‘Unheard of!’ ‘Did her stylist die?’ ‘No, but fashion did, along with her dignity.’ ‘I know elves live long but that outfit shouldn’t.’ Annori and Kevin exchange a silent look on the dance floor and nod.  ‘How embarrassing!’ Annori says, barely whispering. ‘Indeed,’ Kevin chimes in, ‘so not demure.’ The whispers continue, spurred on by their contributions. Falinel keeps her head high, though Annori can spot some genuine annoyance peek through under her expression of resignation. 

Indulging in more fancy treats at the snack table, Raiden suddenly spots a familiar face. Bree is standing next to a halfling noble in extravagant robes, who is orating loudly and endlessly to a handful of people about how much he enjoys sponsoring research. Bree can’t get a word in edgeways and seems to shrink with every word. Raiden wipes his fingers on his coat and walks up to him.  ‘Bree, hi, I realize I only really knew you as Ancient Soldier Guy so uh,’ he extends a hand towards Bree, whose eyes grow wide with panic as he shakes it. ‘I’m Raiden. How are you doing?’  ‘HAHA!’ exclaims Bree nervously, his eyes darting towards the nobles observing them. ‘He means, uh — it’s a game we play. A character.’ ‘Right! Games!’ Raiden jumps in, catching on quickly. ‘Tabletop roleplay at the inn, it’s a whole thing. There’s dice involved.’ ‘With whom do we have the pleasure?’ asks one of the nobles.  ‘Me?’ Raiden leans a little too amicably on Bree’s shoulder. ‘I’m here as a guest of Ambassador Talthanryl. Friend of a friend, you know how it is.’ ‘You know the ambassador!’ exclaims another. ‘Have they told you whether they bring good news from Nospait? I’m looking to speak to them about a business opportunity.’ ‘Ah, no, I’m afraid that’s not the type of thing they discuss with me,’ says Raiden, settling comfortably into this conversation that’s way above his pay grade. ‘But do tell me about your business idea!’  The nobleman explains a trade proposal concerning mushrooms from Nospait that can’t be grown elsewhere.  ‘Now, are we talking about the eat-y kind, or the other kind?’ asks Raiden playfully. ‘Because either way, I’m in.’ There is laughter, and another noble pipes up. ‘You should talk to Melvin here, he’s acquired some actual moopleberry juice!’ For a few blissful minutes, Bree can enjoy a bit of respite from having to dance around the topic, but eventually his patron does bring the conversation back to the possession spell.  ‘It’s going to revolutionize the way we teach History!’ he proclaims. ‘Imagine — students will no longer have to guess at the motivations of a historical figure, or pretend to empathize with the victims of past tragedies. Soon, this research will enable academics all over the Empire to connect with the past on a deep, personal level by hearing these stories first-hand!’ ‘Marvellous,’ remarks Raiden, slapping Bree on the shoulder. ‘I see absolutely no drawbacks.’  

Meanwhile, Ara has gravitated towards the quietest corner he could find on the terrace. He firmly holds his drink now that he has no spear to cling onto, and stares into the middle-distance. He quietly worries about not having complimented Fins outfit, and is scripting a whole conversation in his head. ‘There you are!’ says Kevin.  ‘You don’t look like you’re having fun,’ states Annori. ‘Come inside, there’s so many people to insult there!’ ‘I don’t insult people,’ corrects Ara. ‘And I’m not having fun, I’m the only swamp elf here.’ ‘Sure, but we’re here!’ Annori says, wrapping an arm around Kevin. ‘Look at this face, he needs to be danced with.’ Ara looks out to the crowd on the dance floor. ‘We’re on Fins territory now. I don’t wanna… embarrass them.’ ‘Findire definitely wants to dance with you, are you kidding?’ exclaims Annori. ‘I saw the way they were looking at you! Come on.’  Together they drag Ara back inside. Kevin leads him in a stiff dance, which Annori carefully ensures is in view of Findire who is standing a little ways away. It doesn’t take long for their plan to pay off. Fin approaches them from across the room. ‘May I cut in?’ They extend a hand in invitation to Ara. He looks to his friends making encouraging gestures in the background. ‘I believe this is the part where you say “yes”,’ Fin suggests, with a gentle smile.  Ara meets their gaze and, after a second or so, takes their hand.  They share a graceful dance together. The rhythmic tranquility of this shared focus connects them, and they glide across the floor in unison without needing to speak.  

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Surprising no one, Kevin starts off the next morning with a hangover. Thankfully, Annori remembers that Raiden once made a hangover cure for Ara. He gives her the recipe and she excitedly gets to concocting the liquid monstrosity for her best friend. The kitchen staff is horrified, but Kevin bravely takes a single sip before Annori realizes that perhaps Raiden made this whole thing up to mess with hungover Ara. A note is delivered to them, unsigned — though it is all to clear who it’s from. It contains an address. ‘You’ll find what you need there.’ It appears the mysterious location is in the same district as the tailor, where they’ll be expected to pick up their finished gala outfits this afternoon.  They head to the address on the note and soon find themselves in a different tailor’s shop. This one is much larger, and much more crowded. Extravagant dresses are on display in the window. The group enters and tries to overhear some of the conversations that are taking place, but it’s simply too noisy to pick up anything interesting. Poor hungover Kevin decides to wait outside instead. A ruffled looking employee eventually comes up to them to ask them if they need anything.  ‘If not, could you please leave the premises? It’s the busiest day of the year and I have countless pick-ups to arrange, and—’ ‘We’re here for a pick-up, actually!’ interjects Raiden. ‘On behalf of Lady Talthanryl.’ Relief washes over the employee’s face. ‘Truly? Oh, thank goodness, that saves me the trouble of figuring out how to get it to her in time. Just one moment.’ She rushes off into the crowd and returns a little later lugging a giant shape wrapped in protective cloth. She hands it over to Ara and looks at them expectantly until Raiden hands her a gold piece. Thrilled with their valuable loot, they decide to head back to the Majestic Mare to unwrap it in private. 

Falinels dress is gigantic before anything else. Layers upon layers upon layers of green fabrics in slightly varying hues that shift and shimmer when they move around. Clearly Falinel shelled out some cash to properly impress the other nobles at the gala.  ‘What do we do with it?’ asks Raiden. ‘Sabotage?’ ‘What if we just keep it?’ suggests Annori.  ‘I’m sure she has other dresses to wear,’ says Ara. ‘Ohh, but they’ll be last season!’ gasps Kevin. They all turn to look at him. ‘Trust me, it’s the worst thing that could happen to her. Showing up in an old dress will make it seem like she doesn’t care about the gala, or its attendants, at all. People will talk.’ ‘Great!’ says Raiden. ‘That settles that.’ Together they attempt to hide the dress underneath the bed, but it is simply too big. They put it under the blankets instead, as if someone’s sleeping there. Or more like four to five someones. ‘Gods, is this what it feels like to be evil?’ asks Kevin, as he admires the giant blanket pile.  Annori slaps him on the shoulder. ‘Yep, congrats. You’re a major criminal now.’ ‘On Wednesdays we wear pink,’ says Raiden.

They meander through the city for a bit to kill time before the gala. Kevin tells them about the fancy events he’s been to in the past, and how high society interacts with each other.  ‘I never really felt like I belonged there,’ he expresses. ‘People are all proper and polite to each other's faces, but then hurl insults behind their backs.’ ‘Well that last part shouldn’t be a problem for Ara, at least,’ snickers Annori. Raiden turns to her. ‘Right?? Thank you. Last night this man tried to convince me he never insults anyone.’  ‘Um, well, you’re pretty insulting,’ Annori confirms to Ara. Kevin nods. ‘It’s not an insult if it’s true,’ objects Ara. Raiden rolls his eyes. ‘Anyway,’ says Kevin quickly, trying to brighten the mood. ‘Would you like me to teach you the current dance routines? You should all know some proper moves if you wanna make it through the night.’ 

The next hour or so is spent in a small secluded park away from prying eyes, as Kevin takes it upon himself to be the group’s dance instructor. He corrects their postures and stances, accompanying them with a playful tune on his lute whenever his hands are free. Raiden, who is used to moving his body with care and control, picks up the steps pretty quickly. Ara does well on the form, but is more accustomed to moving to a strong beat than to a flowing melody. Annori enjoys the dancing greatly, but can’t keep herself from adding her own improvised moves once her focus inevitably wanes. 

The time arrives for their second tailor visit of the day! They return to the small workshop where they are once again greeted by the over-caffeinated Althas. This place, too, is much more crowded than they’ve seen it before. There are several assistants rushing to put the finishing touches on various projects. Althas assigns the party each an assistant of their own, and they wait as their specially designed gala outfits are carefully donned and adjusted. A keen observer could spot Raiden visibly change into his new robes. His weight shifts, his posture changes, he cocks his head ever so slightly, adjusts the way he moves his hands as he straightens his jacket cuffs. Then he catches himself in the mirror and realizes what he’s doing — and that it’s something he promised not to do anymore — and quickly shakes it all off. 

A little while later, they step outside in their new outfits looking like their fanciest selves. Annori shines barefoot in a silken gown in blues and purples with glittery translucent sleeves. Ara is donned in rich and colorful swamp-elf fabrics with bright tassels and a long train trailing behind him, his hair skillfully braided. Raiden wears a handsome waistcoat and a long fitted jacket, intricately embroidered in a golden thread, as well as a delicate golden hairpiece shaped like a halo. Kevin is sporting a pink cape worn over one shoulder, a finely decorated teal and magenta tunic, a cravat, and — crucially — his trusty feathered hat. 

Ara gets a message from Findire through his sending stone. ‘Well done! You delivered far beyond my expectations. Meet me at the palace in a bit — I have your invitations.’

Not long after, the group finds Fin waiting for them at the palace entrance. Their gala outfit makes them look far less masculine than they’re used to seeing them, accentuating their curves and luscious curls in a much more gender-fluid way. (My notes just say: SO HOT OH NO) Findire requests that the group uses they/them pronouns for them, at least for tonight.  ‘Congratulations!’ they exclaim happily. ‘I don’t know how you did it. I had absolutely no clue as to where my sister was getting her dress made this year, she guarded that secret exceptionally well. How did you find out?’ ‘We are highly skilled detectives,’ Annori replies mysteriously.  ‘Evidently,’ Fin confirms with a big smile. He gestures towards the entrance to the palace gardens. ‘Now then, my friends. Our big night awaits. Shall we?’ 

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Caught red-handed by Falinel Talthanryl, Raiden makes a split-second judgment call. Knowing that their guilt is obvious but their true assignment may yet remain unknown, he draws a knife and points it at her. ‘Show me where you keep your valuables and nobody has to get hurt.’  Falinel sees right through this, however, and turns to the other thief instead. Ara insinuates that they’re here as sex workers — which also doesn’t throw her off.  ‘You were hired by my brother, weren’t you?’ she concludes, sadly. She picks up the letter they dropped and sits down on the desk. ‘So. What’s the plan?’ ‘In all honesty, that’s a very good question,’ mumbles Raiden, who puts the knife away.  ‘I wish it hadn’t come to this,’ Falinel sighs. ‘It pains me how strained our relationship has become.’ ‘Right, well,’ coughs Raiden, taking a careful step back towards the door. ‘This seems like something the two of you should discuss. Privately. Together. So how about we leave you to that and we part ways as unlikely friends?’

At that moment, Kevin and Annori run into the room. Seeing a person who looks exactly like their friend Findire, Annori squeezes her into a hug. ‘Fin! You’re here! Does that mean you found something?’ ‘Found what?’ asks Falinel suspiciously. ‘Annori,’ Raiden interrupts. ‘That is not Findire.’ ‘What do you mean?’ Annori responds confusedly. Raiden gestures at the large painting of the twins on the wall. ‘What exactly did my brother hire you to do?’ Falinel urges. ‘Oh, uh, well,’ Annori rambles, ‘we were supposed to find something to humiliate you with. Hey! Here’s an idea,’ she adds, excitedly, ‘Why don’t you play along and we’ll give you a cut of the pay?’ Raiden throws his arms up in exasperation and slides down onto the floor, watching 6.000 imaginary gold pieces fly out the window. ‘I should have stayed gone.’ ‘I should have never left the swamp,’ mumbles Ara.

Kevin joins Annori in talking to Falinel, trying to convince her to simply talk it out with her brother. ‘It’s easy, you just go up to them and say: hey Findire, I really miss hanging out with you, and I’m sorry for sleeping with your date that one time.’  ‘Yeah,’ Annori agrees, ‘and then they’ll be like: thank you for apologizing, I love you, let’s be friends again.’  Falinel shakes her head. ‘It’s more complicated than that. I’m afraid there’s things at stake beyond our family, things I’m not at liberty to say.’ ‘Like what?’ asks Kevin. ‘Like avoiding war.’ A deafening silence comes over the study. Falinel takes a moment to consider how much she should say. ‘There are… some nobles in the city who are tired of living under Praximarian rule.’ Kevin, with his bardly knowledge of historical tales, is not too drunk to realize the significance of this. Before the Long War, Anamdael used to be the capital of the country of Dreania. The treaty that was made when it got absorbed into the Praximarian Empire allowed the old ruling class some leeway, but 700 years is not nearly as long to an elf as it is to a human. Some of the current nobles might have heard first-hand stories of the time before the treaty. ‘I went to a meeting of this group by accident,’ continues Falinel, carefully choosing her words. ‘Astrid was… is one of them. This whole thing, dating her, it’s all part of my parents’ plan. Fin can’t know, because it would compromise his position as ambassador to Nospait.’ Kevin quickly explains to the others how Nospait, the neighboring country that used to contain Coldvale, was hit hard during the war. The old duke of Anamdael accommodated many Nospait refugees, and even negotiated on their behalf when the war was concluding. Nowadays, Nospait is a divided country, dependent on Praximar through Anamdael for most of their food and supplies. If Anamdael were to sever that Praximarian connection, it could add deadly pressure to an already tense relationship.  ‘So what it comes down to is: I’m stuck,’ concludes Falinel, sorrowfully. ‘I want nothing more than to talk to my brother and make things right, but if I explain all this, I will endanger both him and my mission.’  ‘If it helps,’ Annori interjects, attempting to lighten the mood, ‘I’m pretty sure Fin hiring us for this was mostly an excuse for them to spend more time with Ara.’ ‘Yeah,’ agrees Kevin, ‘if he really wanted to hurt you, he would’ve hired more competent people.’ Raiden buries his head in his hands. ‘If it helps, I’m pretty embarrassed right about now.’ ‘How embarrassing would it be for Findire to be seen with Ara?’ Annori wonders. ‘Very,’ states Raiden without missing a beat. The others stare daggers at him. ‘You talk a big game for someone who’s on friend parole,’ scoffs Ara. Raiden gestures apologetically and goes back to brooding in his corner.

‘Listen,’ Falinel says. ‘If being publicly humiliated is what it takes for Findire to forgive me, I’ll do it. I’ll help you. I’ll write up some things you can use to really make it work and send them to you in the morning.’ ‘Great!’ exclaims Annori. ‘Cause I gotta be honest: we still don’t have a single good idea.’ Raiden dusts himself off and turns to Falinel. ‘Now that the cards are on the table, tell me: how come you were back so soon? We had reason to believe you’d be out all night, and I’m pretty sure I dismantled the wards on the door.’ ‘Ah,’ Falinel smiles, slipping back behind her confident mask. ‘But you didn’t get the ones on the desk.’ ‘The desk- come on!’ Raiden shakes his head. ‘There’s such a thing as being too careful, you know.’ As he leaves the study with Annori, he spots some jewelry lying around carelessly in the drawing room. He slips a necklace into his pocket, just for the sake of it.

Ara lingers behind and exchanges some words with Falinel in elvish. Kevin gives her a quick, heartfelt hug before he leaves. Then the group ‘sneaks’ back out, since Findire can’t know that they spoke to Falinel at all. When they pass Fin in the downstairs lounge, Annori hesitates and asks: ‘Hey, um, so… Are you really sure this is what you want?’ ‘Yes,’ Findire responds. ‘Pretty sure.’ They leave the Talthanryl mansion, having found much more than they bargained for.

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Once it’s time to head to the Radiant Gardens, Kevin himself is also feeling pretty woozy. Their drunken insistence that ‘nothing fishy is going on here’ raises some eyebrows with the guards, but they’re let through the gates regardless. Findire lets them in through their private lounge and provides directions to their sister’s quarters upstairs. As they walk (Kevin is skipping) through the opulent hallway, Annori decides the stately murals need some moustaches. Raiden begs her to at least pick a spot behind a big potted plant, but can do little to stop her from adding mustachioed smiley faces in many different places. They head upstairs and Raiden takes a look at the lock on Falinels door. It appears to be a simple one, mostly decorative, and he quickly confirms that the door isn’t locked at all. Swinging it open, they see into a room similar to Findire’s lounge – a space intended to welcome guests. Raiden turns around in the doorway to sternly face the drunkenly giggling duo. 

‘Do not. Move. Anything,’ he emphasizes. ‘Or so help me, I will lock you both in a closet.’

‘Okay, but what if we moved everything like an inch to the left, though?’ counters Annori. ‘Would that count?’

‘Can I move Annori?’

The door slams shut in their faces as Raiden locks himself inside the room without them. Convinced this was an accident, Kevin and Annori proceed to quietly sing made-up songs to Raiden through the keyhole. 

Raiden ignores them and takes stock of the space he’s in. It’s somewhat untidy, and doesn’t contain a desk or anything else that might hide important secrets. There’s a door that leads to a balcony, and two more doors. He approaches the door on the right and sees that this one is locked, as well as rigged with a spell that will alert someone when it is meddled with. Seems like this door at least is hiding something important! Raiden briefly considers bringing Annori in for her magical expertise, but considering the state she’s in and how delicate he knows this enchantment to be… He takes out his thieves’ tools, takes a deep breath and carefully dismantles both the lock and the ward. The door opens into a smaller, much tidier room with a large window, a desk, and quite a substantial painting of two people who both look a lot like Findire. Going off of what little he knows about elven culture, Raiden concludes this must be the twins around the time of their name day. He tears his gaze away from the uncanny similarities between the two siblings and focuses instead on the desk. A letter lies atop it, and he picks it up. 

Meanwhile in the hallway Kevin and Annori get bored with singing and decide to look around some more. They find another unlocked door that leads to a bath chamber. Here they sample some of the many expensive oils and perfumes that line the shelves. 

‘And it’s not even technically a Crime™, cause we’re not taking anything!’ remarks Annori.

‘You’re right!’ exclaims Kevin happily. ‘It’s not like we’re stealing any of these bottles. Though I guess we could, since they have so many. They wouldn’t even miss it, probably.’

‘That is true. And stealing from the rich is always morally justified, anyway.’

Kevin places a small bottle of perfume underneath his hat.

Ara, who is observing all this but seems barely present ever since their visit to master Valm, hears someone call his name. Down the hall, Raiden gestures for him to follow. Leaving the others to their perfume crimes, Ara joins Raiden in Falinels room. ‘I found something, it might change our plans,’ says the rogue, handing him the letter. ‘I think you should read it.’

Dearest Fal,

I apologise for how I reacted yesterday. I do not understand why, all of a sudden, you seem heartbroken about what happened. For my part, I know I am not sorry it did. But I can imagine the perspective of having Findire home again after that must steer some feelings, and I should be there for you, however you need me to. My advice to you, knowing them, is to give them space. In time, I hope Findire will forgive us both.

I will wait for you tonight, and hope you'll forgive yesterday's words. They didn't do justice to my feelings for you.

Ara looks up. ‘Why would this change anything?’

‘I don’t know, I just…’ Raiden says, gesturing vaguely at the letter. ‘Don’t you think if Fin knew their sister is apparently heartbroken over this, they might not want to have their revenge anymore?’

‘You don’t have siblings, do you?’ asks Ara, staring at the portrait of the twins. ‘Or, well, I guess you can’t know for sure, because of your dad.’ 

Raiden throws him an uncomfortable glance but doesn’t respond. He pulls open a drawer in the desk and finds dozens of papers.

‘Because I can definitely imagine being annoyed enough with mine to want revenge,’ Ara continues. ‘And either way, we’ve not been hired to think about stuff like this. I have no horse in this race, do you?’ 

‘Mm, I have about 6.000 horses in this race,’ mumbles Raiden, leafing through the papers – letters. From Falinel to Findire, full of remorse, with increasing urgency. All unfinished and unsent. 

‘Do you think we should tell Fin about this?’ asks Ara. 

‘It’s your call, mate. They’re your, uh… friend.’

Suddenly, the door closes behind them. ‘What have we here? Two secret thieves?’ sounds an unfamiliar voice. They whip around and stand face to face with a person who can only be Falinel. ‘Well, you certainly look the part.’

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They arrive at Marcius’ place and Raiden knocks on the door. ‘Delivery!’ M: ‘Oh, uh, I didn’t order anything.’ A: ‘It’s a hot blonde halfling.’ The door swings open and relief sweeps across Marcius’ face. He wraps the halfling up in a big tight hug, until he’s reminded that an ancient soldier is currently in control of Bree’s body. Marcius expresses his thanks for bringing him back safely, and states that he’s pretty sure he can undo the summoning. Especially if Annori would add her druidic magic to ground his own during the ritual. Annori agrees, and Marcius gets to work. Every now and again he asks Annori to check the runes he’s draw, to which Annori can only say: ‘Oh, yeah, I uhh guess the vibes seem good.’ Marcius hands each of them a stick of incense ‘just to be sure’. Kevin plays a mystical tune on his lute with the incense clenched between his teeth. When it’s time to start, Godobald says goodbye and wishes them luck in their future endeavors. Magic starts surging as the ritual begins. It feels both familiar and different to Annori as she lets it pass through her, stabilizing this typical constellation-based magic with the energy she draws from the earth. Suddenly it’s done, and Bree collapses onto the floor. They gently place him on the bed, but there’s no way to tell whether or not it’s worked until Bree comes to consciousness. Marcius thanks Annori for her contribution. ‘It felt like a warm hug! I didn’t know magic could feel like that! How wonderful!’ Annori tells him to always do a vibe check before attempting a new spell. Marcius hands Raiden their payment. ‘I’m just glad your friend didn’t get eaten by stirges!’ exclaims Kevin in relief. M: ‘What?’ R: ‘Figure of speech! Bye now!’ 

Once they’re back outside in the evening air, Raiden remarks: ‘So - those two are totally banging, right?’. A: ‘Ugh, stop.’ R: ‘Oh come on, I just almost died, let me have this.’ N: ‘You can’t keep playing that card.’ R: ‘I can if it keeps happening!’ N: ‘So stop almost dying!’ R: ‘I’d LOVE to!’ Ara mentions that dying would break ‘friend parole’. There is some talk of bringing dead Raiden back as Kevin’s hat. To change the subject, Raiden exclaims: ‘Hey look at us solving a disappearance for once!’ Annori reminds him that they technically already solved one: the disappearance of Lady Lekore in Louton. ‘Remember, where you lost your dagger in that stream?’ Raiden looks annoyed. A: ‘Wouldn’t have those kinds of problems if you were a hat.’

Ara then mentions he’d like to find a buyer for the stirge eggs he has in his pockets. ‘I know just the place!’ says Raiden. ‘You’re gonna love it!’ They head towards the herbalist they visited before. ‘Do you think Ara’s whole attitude will go over better or worse with another swamp elf?’ whispers Annori. ‘I don’t know,’ says Raiden. ‘But aren’t you thrilled to find out?’

It quickly turns out Master Valm’s swamp-elvenness causes mostly confusion with Ara. He recognizes the family name, but there haven’t been any Valms around in the swamp for a long time. ‘Why are you here?’ asks Ara. ‘I live here,’ replies Master Valm. A: ‘Impossible.’ V: ‘‘You seem like a smart boy, you can figure it out.’ A: ‘No, I’m not. Spell it out for me.’ Valm explains he left the swamp after a disagreement about them closing the borders. Ara sees this as a selfish and cowardly move. ‘So you’d rather leave home and live here, alone, than stay behind and actually do something about the problem?’ There is a short back-and-forth about this, but Ara gets more and more worked up and eventually Valm cuts him off. ‘Listen, I’ve been more than patient with you discussing private matters. I would like to close up shop. Tell me what you’re here for or get out.’ As Ara negotiates about the stirge eggs, Raiden carefully studies Valm’s expression and body language. It appears the anger he’s displaying is exaggerated, used as a front to cover up something else. Something more calculating. Something… almost familiar? When Ara mentions ambassador Nefissar, Valm says the name doesn’t ring a bell, but Annori spots the tiniest twitch of an ear. They agree on 55 gold pieces for the eggs, on the condition that they leave the shop immediately. As they depart, Valm asks Ara for his name. ‘I’m a Kresh,’ he says, ‘so that ink on your face? We probably made it.’ Valm tells him to say hi to his grandmaman for him. 

Outside, Annori remarks: ‘So - they definitely banged, right?’ The group decides it’s time for a bath, since they spent the better part of the day in the sewers. It didn’t seem so bad before, but that was likely because there was so much incense in Marcius’ house. K: ‘So we kinda smell like potpourri in a toilet right now.’ After freshening up, they go back to the Majestic Mare for dinner. The innkeep hands them a message that was left for them. It’s in Findire’s handwriting. ‘If you want information on my sister, she will be out of the estate tonight - an opportune moment to look around perhaps?’

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