Quipxotic

Mmmmmmmmmm

Murray.

I’ve touched on it before, I’ve got to say it again

I think our self-professed hick wizard has a big bitter bias against anyone swinging sorcery around, friend or foe, and it is still yet to be addressed even as it threatens to turn into a very real issue for the Schemers 2.0 going forward

I already dissected my thoughts on this regarding her treatment of Azune up to the threshold of the House Einfasen meeting and the Tachonis case. But we got some fresh barbs in for episode 31. Blink and you’ll miss them, but they’re there.

Like, what is this? Murray, what is this?

I want to say it’s the comical drunkenness talking, but it’s not one step removed from how she belittled him in the Overture as he was fresh off of the nightmare revelation of his faith’s lie, followed by rescuing Teor with Tyranny

Murray’s the only one in the party who snipes at Wic like this in the gathering, with Thimble happily stunned to learn that he tried to rescue her and the others at Obrimus Manor, Occtis reaching out to ask if he’s alright and offering the Shield glyph, and Bolaire declaring outright that he trusts Wic completely.

When we get this:

Murray’s comment has been the only real barb in the mix, even with him having confessed to murdering someone under duress of Primus’ threat. I feel like the same suspicion-momentum that has Murray dumping out tidal waves of conspiracy theories based less in her divination augury than simple pessimistic what-ifs—the same paranoia that horded the lion’s share of protection for the Hallowed Round and painted a picture of a group Sundered House ritual simply because Primus was showing back up in town around the same time as the play, the same paranoia that pushed Thjazi’s intentions past ‘complicated’ and into ‘yeah I think he’d risk a theater full of innocent people for his cause’—intertwines with this ongoing Always Suspect/Accuse the Worst of People with X Trait habit of hers

Thjazi obviously wasn’t a sorcerer, and she even held him in enough esteem to weep at the thought of his last words being Help Murray, believing in her, only to need next to nothing in terms of evidence to start theorizing his roguishness could translate into utter ruthlessness to the point of gambling his brother, his theater, and Dol-Makjar itself; that he might have been tied up with the Sundered Houses (derogatory) by intention or mistake

With Wicander and Azune, people who have only been trying their best to do right by others, putting themselves in danger, and compromising their own identities for the Greater Good, there is still that unspoken “mystery reason” that keeps young Lord Halovar (rich sorcerer son of a Sundered House) continuously on her shit list despite all points of his character showing it to be unearned, and Captain Nayar (sorcerer and actor-chameleon Arcane Marshal plant risking everything every day at work by winning over Einfasen and Halovar) who she’s known and mentored since he was a teenager and has never once given her reason to doubt him. Innate pessimism and habitual suspicion blended into prejudice

Even the little compliment she saves for Azune

feels like it carries the same under-the-breath accusation laced in telling him ‘he’s so good’ at playing the role of a villain in service to villains; that Azune, very best friend that he is to her, dare not betray her trust in him as she entrusts her special wizard baby boy student to being asked to testify so help her god  

just

Marisha is building the tension under this so well and I’m rocking back and forth waiting to see who or what will burst the bubble of it all to make Murray have to confront it without hiding behind denial and metaphors. Distrust and derision have already lost a lot of footing since the Overture days, to the point that she can’t claim it’s logical or safety in skepticism anymore, let alone in the Scheming days ahead. It’s just her being cruel and an ass because of somebody's unavoidable physical/magical trait. A trait she has long since painted in her mind as a marker of class and laziness and lordly foulness, regardless of the actual character of the person who possesses it. And with the playing field being set up as it is, I think—almost hope—that the results turn ugly enough that it can’t be ignored anymore

Wic is probably going to be on the receiving end of more nettles from her regardless of how well he does with his undercover work—but Tyranny is going to be right there, having his back, standing up for him and calling out bad faith takes. Azune is going to still be at work, probably twice as hard now as Einfasen ramps up the pressure to be their own mole to the Creed and personal agent among the Arcane Marshals, meaning more ‘play the villain’ acts that will court yet another unpleasant patch between him and Murray ala the Demodus situation. How many strikes until he finally cracks?

I don’t know

That the reason Bolaire was getting upset about hearing that the other rituals had to be completed, was because he knew that he would be required to participate?

That Mara's comment about "You'll be protected. Now that I know that you're the missing halfling weapon, I'll die before I let someone throw you in a box" could be interpreted not as message of goodwill, but one of intent to complete the afterlife mission at all costs, since Bolaire is currently the only lead the Cloak has on a halfling weapon component?

Our stats for E4E030 are now live, and we’ve gathered together a roundup of Teor’s final stats in salute to that noble not-so-little lion man.

As of Episode 30, Teor was the campaign’s top healer, having healed for 123 hit points total, an average of 7.24 per episode present. 

His total damage dealt was 321, putting him in a very respectable 4th place, or 3rd place when averaged per episode present, at 18.88 hp. (These become 2nd and 1st place when the pool is narrowed to characters without Sneak Attack.) 

He took a total of 207 damage, an average of 12.18 per episode present. Around 36% of this damage was in his final episode—that’s 75 points.  

He got 8 kills and 2 HDYWTDTs, and before the end had been knocked out zero times. He cast 18 spells, only one of which was a cantrip. His top spells were Divine Smite and Guiding Bolt (5 uses each), Cure Wounds (3 uses), and Shield of Faith (2 uses).  

His most-used non-spell abilities were Divine Sense (7 times), Lay on Hands (5 times), and Savage Attacker (3 times).  

He got three times more natural 20s than natural 1s (9 vs. 3), and received one kiss, from the light-enamored pixie Honeysuckle. 

His final inventory consisted of the following:

a cloak

a shield

a golden breastplate

a golden flail with an angled head

a corpse fat candle

a yellow Chanter’s Egg

the broken symbol of Tansul

Sir Aniko Seremai’s shield

the axe of Ingrid Einfasen’s favor

a ring of keys to Obrimus Manor

two anti-petrification potions

the Bracers of Oak and Birch

and the Torn Banner. 

As for his lion head emblem, it has found a new home. Remember who you are, Wicander. 

Mara: They didn't give him the scar?

Thaisha: He had the scar, but ...

Mara: How did they not have him if he didn't ...

Thaisha: He's somewhere else.

Occtis: We're not sure.

Mara: That wily piece of shit.

Julien:

- these working conditions suck ass

- oh no i’ve been pressganged

- i do not like this boat and would like to go home

- labouring labouring labouring death labouring in the afterlife

- what was this war about again?

Then, either due to getting the alert from Obrimus Manor about the attack or perhaps just while letting his peer-facing mask finally fall away in the carriage, the reality breaks through.

Primus is frantic. Panicked and raging and suddenly wild with frustration. The attack on Obrimus Manor was already enough to kick him over the edge into immediate unwise action via murdering Hannan on the spot, plus attacking his own sister in a fit, and screaming about how:

“It doesn’t! Matter! We will either rule this world before the year is out or we will all be dead! Do you understand? The druids can choke in blood! We will either defeat them or we won’t be around long enough to see their reprisal!”

Said as if death due to a certain deadline was somehow a thing to fear. He is so terrified, so harried, that he orders the entire manor be gutted and hustled out of Dol-Makjar THAT NIGHT, not daring to risk lingering in the city another minute as this pressure looms.  

Which is a new angle to the whole mess.

House Tachonis is the House of the Dead. We saw point blank in the massacre of Palazzo Davinos how droll Primus was with Julien’s attack, tutting about how sending him to oblivion was merely going home. Tertia Tachonis’ spirit had no fear in being snatched away in the Tenebral Reaches. Death should not be a big deal to these people. They are working with Grandpa Nullus on a scheme that will somehow give them more power and control in death itself. So what exactly does House Tachonis have to fear from failure and death at the end of this approaching deadline?

It can’t be Nullus Tachonis himself. Whatever he might do to punish the family in death, he can already do. Meaning he is racing against the same deadline as they push the family project. So what’s so different about the death that House Tachonis fears coming for them? Whatever it is, I suspect that fear is what’s prompting this whole Deva Vindicta and Sepulchral Lord business in the first place. Without that external cattle prod of panic, wherever it’s coming from, House Tachonis would and should be the most placid of the Sundered Houses. What do they even have to do to gain more power? Just wait and twiddle their thumbs as people keep on dying. And if they were truly concerned about losing those empowering souls, their entire focus would be on sabotaging the druids ‘ Old Path and the routes of Faerie and waiting to stick the knife in Halovar’s back per the Creed’s poaching. But none of that is the focus. That’s all a side project at best. Because there is a clock tick-tick-ticking on something weightier which promises a grand family-encompassing ending that actually strikes terror into a house of necromancers.

And as much as I love to see that fear utterly undoing Primus’ façade—it makes me really, really hope that this is just a family affair. A threat only to the Tachonises. If not?

Giselle holding Albrecht's sword by the blade <3