Meet the Chubbs

"Meet the Chubbs" is the fourth episode of Book 1: Sand & Starlight of Regolus: Dark Age.
==Official Description==
"When last we left our brave adventurers, they emerged victorious in a battle against their rival Copper Legion candidates! With the help of their new benefactor, Hareem Lord Hareem, they returned triumphantly to Spearhold Keep aboard his magnificent solar skiff, "The Heirloom."
As they savor a brief moment of peace, deals are made and bargains struck—some remembered, others forgotten. Now, our heroes prepare for the next stage of their exam, ready to uncover the mysteries that lie ahead. 
Will they rise to the challenge and conquer what awaits? Come join the mythweaving to find out!"
==Plot==
=== Part 1 ===
* As the camera pans down, the group is back in Stormhold Keep where they reconvene with the remaining legionnaires. Team C has emerged victorious from their challenge, and The Coat is nowhere to be found. Katari expresses excitement at seeing that Synnove is still alive, so that she can have the honor of killing Synnove herself.
* With the end of the first exam, each remaining team is given a revivify stone. The teams are officially disbanded, so everyone will be working as individuals moving forward, but they have the option to work together should they please. The prospective legionnaires have 24 hours (until the 8th of Kyrest) until the next exam begins, so they have some down time to do as they please. Team A is told to relinquish their salt; Synnove licks hers and finds that it has a very spicy taste to it. She makes a bet with Commander Bertrand: should Team A pass the second exam without using the revivify stones, the Commander would eat a whole brick of salt. The former Team B, is placed under Urzok, and the former Team A will continue to work with Hareem Lord-Hareem.
* Team A is approached by Voltaire, who explains what happened at the beach. Team D was given a similar directive to Team B: steal Team C's earnings by whatever means necessary. Bubbles is upset about his friend, but Voltaire explains that Chrom took The Coat out after The Coat almost took the Team C out. The Coat should still be on the beach where Team C left him; Aelys, worried about Bug, and Bubbles rush to the beach.
* Voltaire speaks to Synnove, saying that his team has been together for a couple of years, and they enjoy going to places like the Copper Legion and other proving grounds. He says that it is just interesting to do; the most interesting place they have been to so far is the place the orcs keep beyond the wall. Voltaire leaves, but Daisy Mae lingers and apologizes, saying that it doesn’t have to get messy, but it always does.
* Jean-Baptiste is approached by High Minister Kirin Matawa who states that she doesn’t see many like herself; she asks what JB is doing in Faleeria. She invites him to tea, coffee, a meal, and asks to chat sometime. Salvador tells JB and Synnove that he has to go take care of some business, but he’ll be back.
* Aelys and Bubbles arrive at the beach, but The Coat is not anywhere in sight. Bubbles begins to cast detect magic; he finds hints of transmutation magic, and a bit of conjuration. Through their investigation, Aelys and Bubbles come to believe that The Coat is alive. Bubbles and Aelys chat, and Bubbles says that he is interested in magic that manipulates and explains the world. Bubbles reveals that he is around ten years old, and that he doesn’t necessarily trust nor distrust Aelys.
* Everyone goes back to the barracks for lights out. Aelys attempts to stay awake but is lulled to sleep by the sounds of cards shuffling. She is brought in her “dreams” to an icy landscape with a throne, and no Xilyreon to be found.
* Synnove has a dream that will repeat every single night unless otherwise stated. Synnove is brought to the ruined stone temple where she found her book, surrounded by a beautiful landscape with a huge tree and a huge phoenix. The phoenix flies towards Synnove but settles near the tree where there is a white sickly looking serpent. The phoenix and the serpent begin to communicate. Synnove settles closer trying to understand it, but the only word she gleans is “Why.”
* Team A is awoken quite violently by Aloysius, who repeats that it is an emergency, and Hareem Lord-Hareem demands their presence. Synnove is no longer in her bed but has sleepwalked across the room, with her book on Aelys’s bed. Aelys brings the book to Synnove. When Aelys touched the book, it was very hot; when Synnove touched the book after Aelys handed it to her, it was very cold. After more yelling from Aloysius, they all head to the ship.
* Hareem explains that he went on an early morning sail on his ship to a nearby farm that he adores; he saw it was under attack by people in rabbit masks, which is some vague iconography from an old god. After some begging from Hareem, the team reluctantly accepts this rescue mission. In addition, a deal between Aelys and Synnove is made - if Aelys helps out, Synnove will let her touch her book.
* The group arrives at a huge sandy, oasis type farm that has a huge pond and a couple of buildings dotted around. As they arrive, they take note of the scene in front of them: a group of people with dark robes and white rabbit masks, one individual wearing a wolf pelt, and a big older guy with who dresses in ratty pilgrim clothes on top of a beefy donkey. Fighting against this group is a group of halflings. With the halflings are two beasts made of soil: one white rhino and one ankylosaurus with calcified melons on its tail. Next to the beasts is Wellby Chubb, an older halfling standing around 2ft 10 in with a bulging belly, hairy arms, stomach, and legs. He wears a mangled straw hat over his curly light brown hair.
* The legionnaires leap from the ship, with heroic-like landings, only to get immediately be hit by a fireball. Combat commences. Synnove goes down but is healed by Wellby; as she is under the effects of Sun's Grace, the huge wooden wheel of Yla appears underneath her. JB goes down but is also healed, with a similar vision of the wheel appearing below him. 
* Gnash, the wolf-pelt clad cultist, initially survives an onslaught from Hareem's ship and creates a cloud of darkness around himself, saying "May the Great Rabbit take you all." As Maggie the ankylosaurus strikes a fatal blow, Gnash's final words are “Take me, Midnight, Hiraks, take me.” Seeing Gnash fall, the last standing cultist kills himself, yelling “Embrace me.” 
* The cultists are defeated with most are dead, one unconscious with his mask removed, and the pilgrim, attempting to flee. Aelys chases after the pilgrim looking man on Chadewick, the donkey; he hurls an insult at Aelys, calling her "knife ear," which angers Aelys.
* Hareem congratulates the group on their victory.
=== Part 2 ===
* As retribution for his insult, Aelys proceeds to gouge the pilgrim's eyes out; Wellby steps in and casts healing word on the man. Wellby says there has been enough violence for one day; he pays Chadewick in grain to bring the man back to town. They put the unconscious cultist in the barn and proceed to clean up the farm by looting the bodies and dumping them in the pond.
* Bubbles takes a mask to see what it does and attunes to it, under the careful observation of Synnove. He learns that it gives the wearer the ability to see through magical darkness, and when someone within 30ft of the wearer is reduced zero hit points, the wearer will gain temporary hit points equal to twice their proficiency bonus. These temporary hit points, and only these temporary hit points, can stack. There is no negative effect that Bubbles can sense.
* JB feels a pull to this pool of water; something is drawing him there that is not of this plane. The pond, The Everspring, has been in the Chubb family for generations. Once every two generations someone from the Emerald Warp comes over, and the Chubb family gives them food. Way back in the day, Meemaw and Plumpernella Chubb and a couple of others ventured into the Emerald Warp and helped out a Baron, so they have a continual agreement; the Everspring is how they reach them.
* Once everyone settles down to eat, a little girl, Rosla, approaches JB and Synnove to speak about their blue skin. JB responds that her name is like a rose, powerful because of its thorns, and sounds like a powerful flower song, an explanation that delights the girl.
* The group notices spirits moving around. Wellby explains that these are the Chubb ancestors who like to have a seat at the table and eat. Wellby explains that the cultists were after them because they have the only water source around that isn’t the ocean. Synnove is curious about how the magic around the farm works, saying that it feels different to her.
* Hareem Lord-Hareem provides details about the second exam during this breakfast. The group will need to go all the way down to the final level of the tomb, into the king's resting chamber. Some strange magic event happened in the tomb around 900 years ago, and most of the riches the king chose to be buried with combined into some alloy that surrounds the king's sarcophagus. This alloy - copper - is what the Copper Legion wants them to grab, and it is what the Copper Legion is named after. Once they acquire the copper, they must then bring it to Damien at the Spearhold Keep. Damien will forge it into whatever they so desire, and their forged item will serve as their badge of entry for the Legion. Wellby needs to grab some supplies from the mine, so he will be accompanying them on their journey. Hareem then informs the team that they will each receive an item of recall, which will bring them safely out of the tomb. However, if they use their stone before they retrieve the copper, they will forfeit their chances of joining the Copper Legion. Wellby advises the group to avoid any humanoid voices that they don’t know. Hareem Lord-Hareem also mentions that there may be orichalcum within the tomb; it has a similar essence and is from the same age as the legionnaires current affliction (their sigils).
* Wellby introduces all his family. There is no leader, everyone just does what they need to do to keep the farm running.
* The legionnaires proceed to complete the tasks given to them by Wellby: Bubbles goes to collect eggs, JB goes to fix up the well, Aelys goes to “landscape” around the lake, and Synnove goes to fix up the barn and check up on the unconscious cultist they put there.
* Wellby accompanies Aelys to make sure she’s actually working and finds she is reluctantly working the land around the lake. JB finishes his task at the well and reunites with Wellby and Aelys by the lake, where he tries to take a quick swim to clean off. Wellby stops him, and after a bit of back and forth, Wellby states that this lake is kind of sacred to his people and he would really appreciate it if JB just… didn’t touch the water. No one takes a dip in the lake.
* As Synnove walks to the barn, she notices that the sheep are electric sheep. Synnove walks over to the cultist and wakes him. He introduces himself as Averik, and they have a conversation about death and the cult that he was in, The Duskhares. Averik tells Synnove about the familial bond that he has with those people and the satisfaction that comes with death and killing. He also reveals that over time while wearing the mask, he’s forgotten bits of who he is. Synnove implores and tries to convince Averik to pray to Stella. After some back and forth, he does:
* After saying his prayer, Synnove’s book flings open; as the pages flip, there is a light being traced on it. They hear the sound of the clanking of a very large piece of beautiful wood fills the room, and Averik yells “I see it” before he erupts into pure radiance. When the light dies down, Averik is a completely blank hairless husk. He does not speak but listens to what Synnove says. He seems to be almost reborn.
* Bubble’s goes to a coop that holds two very large birds; Bubbles cannot speak to them but feels a kinship with them. Bubbles becomes visibly upset about the prospect of cooking these two eggs and asks Fengwen if he can ride them because of the feathership that they share being birds. Fengwen ponders this and gives Bubbles an egg to keep and hatch, so that they can test that theory. Bubbles spends the rest of the day before the great Chubb banquet sitting on the egg.
Level up - Level 3!
== Characters ==
=== Player Characters ===
*Aelys Sa’Viraan
*Bubbles Bathington
*Jean-Baptiste
*Salvador E. Montebank (portrayed by Will)
*Synnove Oleander
*Wellby Chubb
=== NPCs ===
* Voltaire
* Chrom
* Barridyne
* Katari
* Daisy-Mae
* Commander Ygritte Bertrand
* Vaxal
* Dr. Iridia Thane
* High Minister Kirin Matawa
* Hareem Lord-Hareem
* Beryllia
* Rusty
* I.G.N.I.S. / IGN15
* Phoenix & Serpent (in Synnove’s Dream)
* Aloysius 
* Leonaard
* Cultists of Midnight 
** Gnash
** Alberaz
** Chadewick, the donkey
** Averik/Sol
* Chubb Family
===Mentioned===
* Hiraks 
* Midnight
* Urzok
== Locations and Organizations ==
=== Locations ===
* Spearhold Keep
* Chubb Family Farm
** Everspring
=== Organizations ===
* Copper Legion
* Trading Ministry
* Duskhares
== Tarot Card and RP Warmup ==
The tarot card for the episode was The World, drawn by Eli.
The roleplay warmup question was: "You are in the line for a drink/food and do not have time and need to get to the front. How does your character get to the front of the line without having to wait?"
==References==