A Matter of Life and Seth

We're back in Liscor finally! This book started with the strategists at sea, and those two chapters were a whopping 7 or 8 hours on Audiobook. If I didn't have these posts to help me keep track, I probably would've needed a refresher on Liscor's latest happenings.

Oh. That's right. Klbkch.

(7.19)

Xrn has been trying to make deals with Erin, and admits Klb was only ever meant to be The Slayer, so he doesn't see those under him as anything other than expendable tools. Ironically, this philosophy flies directly in the face of the goals of the Free Antinium to create individuals, because individuality has to be developed through care and respect for every single worker and soldier.

Xrn wants to give Erin bunch of blank slate, so-to-speak, soldiers and workers and basically see what she can make of them, and is offering things like money and enchantments. But Erin is wary for multiple reasons. The biggest is that Erin has simply seen too many friends die. By fostering a bunch of workers and soldiers, helping them discover their individuality, and then turning them over to the hive, they'll be expected to lay down their lives for the hive.

Also, while Erin isn't oblivious to the impacts that she has had, the things she's done have done nothing to improve her own assessment of her self-worth. She still sees herself as "just Erin", so a lot of this additional pressure feels out-of-left-field to her. Like "I'm just an innkeeper, why is one of the most well-known Antinium who is feared all across the continent asking ME for help?

Ultimately, for now, she agrees to have more Antinium visit the inn.

Erin makes Pelt a Meat Supreme Sub, plants the "you know... you could move to Liscor" bug in his brain, and then leaves the spooky mystery coin with him to try restoring.

Mrsha, Apista, and Numbtongue go to free the bees, but they don't want SOMETHING FROM THE DUNGEON getting out, so instead they come up with a solution to provide the hive with sustenance so they can keep up their war.

ALSO. THE BEES SAY IT'S AS BAD AS CRELERS?

Odd guess, but I'm trying to figure out what that can be and I keep going back to the idea I had around the time Ceria was stuck with Calruz down there. I was theorizing that it could be spores in the water that caused the mobs to appear invisible to each other in the dungeon. I'm almost wondering if harmful spores could be the enemy that the bees consider to be worse than Crelers. Like, perhaps there's something in the wing of the dungeon that they are above that's constantly spitting spores into the air, and the bees can't let the spores escape into the open air. Bees can and do collect spores in addition to pollen, and sometimes spread plant pathogens, so perhaps they uncovered a potential nutrient source only to realize that the spores carry some sort of effect? Idk, i'm probably way off, but that's my crazy theory. Odds are it's probably just the "Infested" enemies that Calruz and the Raskghar were fighting down there.

Xrn gives some magic items to the individuals

GARRY ASKS FOR THE FLYING ANTINIUM TO PREVENT THEM FROM VIVISECTION. GO GARRY!! ERIN WOULD BE PROUD!!

(7.20)

Xrn repels Face Stealer

(editing this post because I forgot to mention that Xrn used a spell named after Belavierr to bind Face Stealer, and thats kinda insane, right?!)

With the gates to Invrisl closing for the night, the Horns & Maviola meet and have a fun night camping. I'm liking Maviola's character more and more.

Erin's still sensing the door like she had with Pebblesnatch

Lyonette omg yeah I bet you were "sword training" with Pawn, ehehehe... Yep. Because he's the most combat oriented bug out there... That'd totally explain being sweaty first thing in the morning...

Grimalkyn scolds Erin about telling Pelt he should consider moving, and ERIN THOSE INVITES AREN'T SPAM. YOU'RE BEING INVITED TO THE OTHER WALLED CITIES. OMG.

The Horns and Maviola make it into the city, and this Todi asshole starts shit trying to enforce some hazing ritual at the Adventurer's guild, Ceria and Pisces shoot him down HARD lmao

and Ceria pulled the half-elf card to introduce herself at another table WITH ELIA ARCSINGER... CERIA... YOU'RE DUMB LOL

Griffon Hunt and the Players get word of the Horn's arrival and go "oh my god those idiots are going to go right into the Gold Rank Hazing and interrupt Hedault and get themselves blacklisted WE GOTTA HURRY" so they make it to the guild and save the Pisces and Ceria's asses

Yvlon and Ksmvr had some more drama with the watch, and got nearly blacklisted by a grumpy Hedault until he realized it was The Horns and that they're idiots

not gonna lie I love how even the story's narration regularly says stuff like "The horns are idiots", inserting its own opinion into the world as it reads to us.

Maviola's destination was replaced by the stitch-people district and she... falters? doesn't have any direction? I was afraid that the potion was wearing off too soon, but her soul is just old and she has to keep moving....AND IT WAS MAGNOLIA WHO SAID AS MUCH

Magnolia, Pryde, and Wuvren are getting their hair and outfits done for something

So she decides to APPROACH THE EARTHERS and treat them to lunch while meeting up with the Horns

Erin opens the door to MAGNOLIA! GASP!

She barges into the inn with the other ladies and her druid.

The druid barges into the garden and has a moment where he acknowledges Mrsha as a fellow druid which was nice

BUT THEN LISCOR'S WATCH AND COUNCIL SHOW UP. They all go onto the city walls, start a broadcast via Montressa/Wistram, where the Druid MAPS THE FREE HIVE, DISCOVERS THE NEW TUNNEL, AND GETS A FULL COUNT OF THE ANTINIUM UNDER THE CITY

Erin is upset, but the Invrisil people are making their way into the inn.

Oh also Bethal reclaims her horse and Thomast stole Maviola's money pouch?! MAVIOLA'S STILL IN INVRISIL. THE DOOR NEEDS CHARGED

(Interlude: A Night in the Inn)

Pisces being snobbish helped snap Erin out of her bad mood, and the earther's think Pisces being a necromancer is cool lmao

Erin, Lyonette, and the Invrisil innkeeper negotiate a little bit, he seems chill

BUT NOW REYNOLD HAS A DECREE ABOUT THE DOOR (and a letter for Yvlon?)

MAGNOLIA'S SETTING TERMS ON THE DOOR'S USAGE WITHOUT CONSULTING ERIN AND NOW SHE'S PISSED

THE MOST PISSED WE'VE EVER SEEN HER

To be fair, the antinium have been wrong to go against the established treaty with Liscor, but Magnolia called that out in such a way that it has begun to sway public opinion towards the antinium so heavily at a time where Erin has an in with the hive to negotiate and push for non-agression/coexistence.

Honestly i'm kinda baffled by the antinium's motivations towards conflict on Izril at the moment. As far as I understood it, their main goal has been to return to Rhir, because that's where their true enemy lies. But if that's the case, why bother with all this fighting on Izril unless they're just trying to level and gather resources in preparation? Why not gather allies instead? If the antinium actually explained the Rhir situation and their histories without first being forced to resort to violence, they hold the potential to Rally the continent to their side... At least, so long as people like Erin are allowed to sway the hearts and minds of the people, and not Magnolia. At worst Izril could simply work to provide the antinium passage back to their home continent. Of course, they'd have to navigate the sea again, but the best case scenario could be assaulting Rhir with a united continental force.

Veltras is so short-sighted that he thinks Drakes are the enemy of Humanity (because he's a piece of shit and i hate him)

Magnolia is slightly more broadly-minded and thinks that the Antinium are the enemy of Izril (because she simply sees them as invaders)

Erin is MUCH MORE open-minded and thinks that people can be good regardless of species, and while she hasn't articulated as much, is giving me the impression that she is starting to realize more and more that the real threat to Izril is the people in power constantly pointing fingers at groups they don't like.

SO ANYWAYS. Briganda's kiddo made it into the inn with Grev, and Mrsha took them through the garden to get around the Inn's crowd.

Numbtongue's there with Pyrite and Reiss, and scares Cade, Briganda sees Numbtongue with her son and the mama-bear instincts kick in, she has to be reminded "We told you there's a hob. He's chill."

Maviola gets Ceria to pay for her entry into the inn

Kevin attempts to flirt with Drassi, ends up talking to Bird about Birds lol

some Brothers of Serendipitous Meetings find their way in and get Typhenious's side of the story regarding the attempted door theft.

ERIN IS INVISIBLE BLACK HATRED FIRE PISSED

AND THE FIRE IS SPREADING.

I need Maviola and Erin to become besties right now...

She decided to go for a walk in Pallass (to get A KNIFE BECAUSE SHE IS FEELING HATEFUL OH NO)

PELT IS UNRESPONSIVE

THE COIN???

"Tamaroth, Who Leads. The G— of Rulers. Protect Us in Our Weakness"

Okay, uhhh... give me a sec... So, the G- is definitely "God", which means that the entity during the winter solstice who offered the Umbrella of light was Tamaroth... But the gods are supposedly dead... except they're not?? But it basically confirmed that all six who approached Erin and Ryoka that night were Dead Gods

It's gotta be that whole "Names give power" kinda thing that we'd hear from the Fae and Witches. Teriarch has exclaimed "Tamaroth's beard" once or twice that I can recall, so I'm suspecting that those few who live and remember the names of the gods are preventing them from truly dying, or something, and that if Erin or Ryoka accepted any of the entities on the solstice, they would've more-or-less given their souls to whichever god? or had helped them return to the world? Or something?

Did reading the coin, or something about knowing a god's name, cause Pelt to collapse? That's so ominous wtf

BUT ALL THAT HELPS PUT OUT ERIN'S HATE FIRE

Hexel the Lamia architect shows up to the inn and introduces themselves to the council, he was attacked by drakes for being a lizardman and had to go north into human lands and travel south, where he found Magnolia and the door to the inn.

Olesm's still moping and Maviola is curious about him

The players of Celum do an encore inside the inn after their show in Invisil

ERIN RECOGNIZES THE EARTHERS (oh also the Wistram ones figured them out earlier)