World of Embrel: Knights of Magic - Episode 7

== Summary ==
After playing a decisive role in the defense of Wilderest from invading giants, the party became Knights of the Vanguard, knighted by the king of Oldirin himself. The Vanguard then tasked the party with a new adventure: to find a ship that will carry them south of the Summer Sea. There, they would find an isle with a shrine to the Goddess of Magic, where they might learn why magic in Embrel was dying—and how to prevent that death.
In this episode, the party dissected Wellbloom, crossed the Valk family, and re-established Tamara Silvertouch as the Merchant Lord of Záchálas.
== Planning in the Safehouse ==
Having uncovered a plot by the Gilded River Syndicate to profit off Rotter’s Blight, the Vanguard Knights stopped the synthesis of Wellbloom beneath the Talon headquarters. They rescued a few people whose magic essences were being drained, along with Lucia Bonebeard, the captain of the Coral Breaker who told them that the ship had been taken by a dragon.
The next day, in a Valk family safehouse, the party planned their next move. Kartuk was still out of it from the Rotter’s Blight, but Linus, Lance Zetna, and Tamara Silvertouch began to recover. Rose continued to operate Uno’s body as Uno battled his inner demons. Others in the safehouse included Hope Lowti, the party’s scribe; the Forged warrior, Face; and Lucia Bonebeard.
While half-conscious, Lance Zetna told the party that they needed to check the alchemical properties of Wellbloom. Xochiquetzal took a notebook from Lance’s jacket and rifled through it, hoping to find clues in there.
First, she found a letter from Tiffany Zetna, Lance’s sister: “Dear brother, I’ve been expelled from the school and I believe they tried to manipulate my memory. I know they know. I’m in hiding but am heading to Záchálas, please respond as soon as you can. I’ll be in Aural soon.” The letter was from two months ago.
The notebook itself was written with mirrored letters, so Xochi couldn’t decipher it. She asked Ferrah for help, who saw the technique and was able to unlock the journal’s secrets. Lance seemed to think that Wellbloom was being made at another facility besides the Talon headquarters. More importantly, Wellbloom didn’t stop the effects of Rotter’s Blight. It merely hid them while accelerating the progression of the condition. As such, if a person stopped taking Wellbloom, the afflicting would present itself in a much worse manner. In that way, it was an addictive poison rather than a medicine. Due to the long time Linus had been using the poison, he needed one full tincture a week. Because Xochi had given herself a massive dose of Wellbloom the day before, her Rotter’s Blight had also accelerated to the point that she needed one full tincture per week.
While Lugo, Ferrah, Rose, and Xochi discussed how to counteract Rotter’s Blight, Hope jumped into the conversation, reminding them that they would counteract the affliction when they saved magic. Finding Efrelyn’s shrine was their top priority.
Tamara Silvertouch, a purple Tiefling, awoke then and drew her weapons, asking, “What have you done with me?”
Lugo tried to calm her down, but Face grappled Tamara to stop her from threatening his friends. Xochi called Face over to look at something, which caused Face to let Tamara go. Lugo handed Tamara her weapons and said he would explain, but Tamara bolted for the door. She threw down a bookcase, but Lugo dove over it, used Levitate to pass Tamara, and stopped in front of the door, blocking her.
When Tamara drew a knife, Lugo held up his hands and explained that Tamara had been rescued from under the Talon facility. He pulled out a Talon badge and the signet ring belonging to Goozen Pyke, saying that they had taken care of the corrupt Talon members except for Otto von Daxon, the Immortal Man. The party was helping Tamara and Lance, not harming them.
Rose righted the bookshelf and gave Tamara some tea. The group congregated in the kitchen to discuss. Linus and Lance felt well enough to join, though Lucia remained sitting by herself in a different room.
While Lance tried to take credit for the rescue of Tamara by saying that he had ordered the party to help, Lugo cut him off, stating that Lance had sent letters requesting help and the party took over from there. Tamara revealed that she had been in hiding after uncovering a plot to poison the water supply in Záchálas with Wellbloom, which would accelerate Rotter’s Blight throughout the city. Tamara stated that they must have accessed the water in one of the few springs available, which was at a distillery owned by the Valk family.
Lugo said that, just to be clear, his uncles might not have been poisoning the city. The Talon might have broken into the distillery.
On the idea of checking the chemical properties of Wellbloom, Linus said he was an alchemist, not a gilder, but he’d be willing to team up with Xochi’s herbalist skills to do their best.
Lugo also reminded the party that they needed to contact Lovich. It had been eleven days since they’d left to find a ship that could take them south.
Tamara stated that she was the Merchant Lord of Záchálas and they needed to re-establish her as the rightful leader. The Knights were hesitant, thinking that reinstallation would take too long.
The constellation cat that had been rescued from the Talon headquarters purred against Tamara. She picked the cat up and petted it, taking a break from all the stress in and around her. Linus tried to pet the cat, but the cat clawed at his blackened fingers and tried to bite his hat. Linus took off his hat to play with the cat, but Toad fell out of the hat and started chasing the cat.
Lucia came out of the other room and asked if the group was ready to find a ship so they could sail to the Coral Breaker. Tamara stated that after they reasserted her leadership, she could supply anything they needed for the journey, including a ship.
== Crossing the Valk Family ==
The party decided to split up. Xochi and Linus would work on understanding the properties of Wellbloom while Rose, Lugo, and Ferrah checked out the Valk distillery, where they made serpent rum.
The distillery appeared deserted. Ferrah found a false door behind the machinery and stepped down to the wellspring, a river flowing out into the bay. A number of barrels rested on the edge of the river, one leaking out as if recently uncorked.
Lugo smelled the barrels and realized they weren’t serpent rum, but rather were Wellbloom poisoning the water supply.
Throughout the last two days, Rose had been listening to everyone mention the Serpent Queen. As they assessed the situation, she asked for more information about Svsx. A Goddess, she was a massive issue in Záchálas.
Rose remembered the Unrighteous Gods as they were called in her time. She shuddered and showed a darker side of herself, warning the others that if this Serpent Queen was the same Goddess she knew about, then they needed to be careful. The Serpent Queen had powerful followers who could change shape and produce poison, and she could even grant immortality. The only way such immortality could be broken was if the follower fell in love with a mortal. Rose knew this firsthand, having fallen in love with a follower herself. She told Lugo and Ferrah to be careful approaching those people as one of the only ways to stop them was to grab their gaze.
Rose did remember that the previous people who led the cult had been disposed of. One was dropped from the stratosphere, burning them faster than they could heal. The other was pierced with ballista bolts and thrown into the ocean. Finally, Rose also noted that she knew the Immortal Man from her own time two centuries ago.
Suddenly, a portcullis fell, blocking the water which flooded the room. The passage upstairs had been blocked. Ferrah tried to break the door down but critically failed, breaking her finger instead.
Refusing to panic, Rose cast Ceremony to bless the water, making it holy. The sweet smell of sugarsalt rose from the barrels as the tinctures mixed with the water and broke down into harmless constituents.
Lugo went to the portcullis and wedged his dagger between wood slats. He broke some off, and the pressure of water trying to flow through the crack caused the rest of the portcullis to break. The trio was swept out, crashed into sewage, and flowed into the bay.
After they had left, the portcullis rose. Oliver Romhanyi stepped into the wellspring and said to the air, “Lugo, you’re destroying your family.”
Meanwhile at the safehouse, Xochi and Linus combined their spells to dissect a tincture of Wellbloom. Xochi cast Protection from Poison and Purify Food and Drink while Linus cast Identify. A tiny healing spirit travelled into the tincture and purified the contents, breaking down a venom that was binding the ingredients. The tincture was mainly composed of the venom, the magic essence, and sugarsalt.
In doing this, Xochi created a first-level Remove Poison spell that could remove the poison effect from a person, food, or drink. (Roll d20 + spellcasting ability modifier + proficiency vs. poison DC.)
Deciding that there was nothing more they could do with the Wellbloom, Linus cast Sending to attempt contacting Lugo. However, he misunderstood how to use the spell, sending only a brief hello. Lugo responded out loud and asked Ferrah and Rose if they had heard Linus, but they hadn’t. Rose said that Lugo was hallucinating and it must have been the fecal matter from the sewage. They needed to get back to the safehouse.
When they return, Linus cleared up the questions surrounding the odd voice in Lugo’s head. Rose had a heart-to-heart conversation with Linus about the difficulties of learning spells, casting Ceremony’s coming-of-age blessing on him.
A messenger child arrived at the safehouse with a letter for Lugo. Xochi tipped the child with a snail, which the child ate.
The letter was from his mother, telling him to go to First Chance Last Chance in one hour.
When the party asked about the note, Lugo got agitated and defensive. Linus asked if it was from Lugo’s secret smoocher, which prompted Face to ask what a smooch was. Xochi kissed Face, then said that she should have asked for consent first. Face said that any of his friends were allowed to smooch him at any time. Xochi decided that she would whittle a smooching mask for Face.
Eventually, Ferrah told Lugo that the party would follow him if he didn’t tell them what the letter was about, so Lugo admitted that he was going to meet with his mother. Linus gave Lugo a Cave Pearl of Message so that they could communicate with him. They decided to follow him, but waited outside the tavern.
Lugo entered the building and found his uncles sitting at a table. Oliver stood at the door, taking Lugo’s coat and weapons. When Lugo sat, Oliver sat behind him with a loaded crossbow.
Lugo’s mother, Myra, entered the tavern from the back. She sat across from Lugo and gave him a stern look. She told him that his activities with his friends were going to stop. The friends would leave Záchálas and never return. Lugo would not ruin the Valk family’s relationship with the Gilded River Syndicate, and the family business would go back to normal.
Lugo said that he wanted to be part of the business from the start. If they had just told him, he could have helped. But Myra said that they had told Lugo to leave his friends on the Lonely Coin, and he hadn’t. He would not listen.
Lugo agreed that he hadn’t listened, and that was on him.
Myra stated that Tamara would be disposed of momentarily. Lugo apologized for all the trouble. The Uncles escorted Lugo out the back while Myra said that she’d have a conversation with Lugo’s friends.
Oliver went out the front to usher the party in, but Linus paged Lugo with the Cave Pearl of Message. Lugo told Linus to leave. The Uncles thought it was weird that Lugo had said, “It’s alright, just leave” out loud, but they took him to their new headquarters anyway.
Rather than go into First Chance Last Chance, Linus said that the party had business to take care of and ran away. The party followed suit. Goons with crossbows stood in the group’s way, but Linus cast a Tidal Wave made of acid that washed away those in his path, dissolving their legs. It was a slow, painful death for those caught in the wave.
The power and brutality shocked Oliver. Before leaving, Linus looked at Oliver and said, “Tell Lugo’s mom I said to eat shit.”
As they left, Ferrah told Linus that his spell was a little dark, but Linus said he was coming of age. He saw himself in a mirrored sign and realized that he had begun to grow a mustache.
At the Valk headquarters, Lugo asked what the plan was. The Uncles needed to know that Lugo would really pledge himself to the family. To that end, they planned to give him a binding tattoo that would pledge him to the Serpent Queen.
Lugo nodded and said he understood. He walked over to Klace for a hug. Klace said that he’d been so worried Lugo would freak out about it and hugged Lugo.
With that out of the way, Lugo moved towards the tattoo table, but then switched directions and jumped out the nearest window, sprinting down the street towards the safehouse. The Uncles raised their hand cannons, but couldn’t shoot their nephew.
== Establishing Authority ==
Lugo reached the safehouse before the rest of the party did and found a melee inside. A Valk kill squad fought Hope, Face, and Lance. Tamara and Lucia were already bleeding out.
Just as Lugo entered to fight off the assailants, the rest of the party arrived. Lugo bobbed and weaved, driving his rapier into his foes. Hope choked the enemies near her, ignoring the crossbow bolt in her back. Lance blasted people with dual wands while Face pummelled people who had climbed his back.
Xochi cast Healing Spirit and sent it to minister to Lucia. The druid then Wildshaped into a swarm of spiders, crawling over and pouring into the mouth of an assailant attacking Face. The person choked to death. Face was shocked by Xochi’s form and thanked her, somewhat stunned.
Ferrah grabbed a coffee cup and took a sip, then spewed acidic dragon breath, dropping one opponent and pinning two against the wall. Rose said that was a great move and leisurely walked past the enemies, using Lay on Hands on Tamara, then casting Sanctuary on her. She grabbed some tea for the bleeding woman and told Tamara that she was alright. Tamara was grateful.
Linus sent a barrage of Magic Missiles, dropping two more foes. Lance, who had six crossbow bolts sticking out of him, slumped to the ground next to Tamara. He thanked Linus for the help.
One of the kill squad hit Face with a chair. Face grabbed the chair and pulverized the person.
Having survived the encounter, Rose healed Lance and Linus tried to help remove the crossbow bolts, though Lance said he could take care of that part himself. Lance was grateful for the healing, however, and thanked Rose.
Lugo wanted the party to go to the harbor and flee the city, but Tamara insisted that with the evidence of the plot against her, things would be so much simpler if they just re-established her authority. They could even call upon Dominique Rooken, the Court Mage of Záchálas, for aid, if she could just reach the seat of authority. The group finally agree after Tamara had a tantrum, so perplexed by the reticence of the Vanguard to help her.
As the group walked the winding roads of Záchálas, they felt themselves being watched. Lance led the walk.
A statue nearly fell on Tamara, but Lance pushed her out of the way. Lance got crushed, still alive but badly wounded. While Tamara lauded Lance’s actions and swore to remember his aid, Lugo helped Lance get to his feet. Lance thanked Lugo. Xochi glared at Lance for being so thankful to everyone.
The group continued. A man came out of his house and saw the Vanguard. He brought out the goat that they had blessed on a previous day and thanked them again for blessing it. He asked how they got Tamara out of jail, to which they answered that Tamara had been falsely accused. The man started spreading the news that Tamara was free and innocent.
As they moved, Lugo was suddenly yanked by an unknown force into a building. His mother was there.
“You broke my heart,” she said. “You are no longer part of the family. I never want to see you in this city again. You have until sunrise.”
Lugo didn’t argue. He left his signet ring and said, “Tell Dad I love him.” After that, he left the building and caught up with the group. Linus asked what happened, but Lugo said they needed to keep moving.
The party reached the entrance to the Lords' Hall. Guards saw them and asked what Tamara was doing there.
The Vanguard members flashed their Vanguard brooches in unison and stated that Tamara was innocent. The guards were surprised and let them pass. Gasps rose from the hall as the Vanguard flaunted their authority and established Tamara as the Merchant Lord.
== Epilogue ==
=== Resting ===
The following days were a flurry of activity as Tamara took her place as Merchant Lord. Guards raided the Talon headquarters and known Valk locations, but the areas had already been emptied already. The Valk family was in hiding.
The party rested in their own wing of the Lords’ Hall. They enjoyed tea. Xochi whittled a smooch mask for Face. Face said that he wished he wouldn’t forget them, but his mind was going to reset soon. Due to the depletion of magic, the duration of memories that he could hold was continually shrinking.
Ferrah said they'd be around to become friends with Face all over again. Linus said that he could read Face's thoughts, take the memories, and return them to him later. Face said he'd like to smooch Linus.
Later, Ferrah chatted with Lugo, asking about what happened at First Chance Last Chance. Lugo said that the Uncles were in deeper Gray Market activities than he thought and he couldn't be a part of it. They were associated with the Serpent Queen. But that was the past, and the Knights needed to continue their quest.
Ferrah put a hand on Lugo’s shoulder. “I know it’s difficult to leave family,” she said. “I told you about how my parents are involved in the drug trade, right? I’m here if you ever want to talk about that stuff.”
Lugo appreciated the offer. He also mentioned that Ferrah’s parents weren’t bad people for getting caught up in that. Ferrah agreed and said Lugo’s uncles might not be that awful either, just caught up in the situation.
Lugo hoped that Anara was okay. Ferrah was noncommittal, but said they’d surely find out eventually.
Lugo then remembered that he still had the letters from Lance’s secret warehouse. He asked Ferrah to return them to Lance. When she did, Lance was quite grateful, once more gathering the ire of Xochi.
The group signed affidavits detailing all that happened the previous few days, including the things surrounding the Valk family. Lugo signed it using his V'Tarre name rather than Valk. Linus gave him a hug.
Realizing that Uno might be ready to face the world any day now, Rose spent time with her friends and allies, bestowing upon each of them the coming-of-age Ceremony.
=== A New Servant ===
Meanwhile, hidden away in the recesses of taverns and alleyways, signs offered access to the Grey Gods. Anara Silverclaw followed those signs to an altar and knelt at it. “I’ll do anything,” he said, “as long as it keeps my son safe. You can have all of me, but my boy won't be afflicted anymore.”
Silence met his plea. He sobbed.
Then a snake came out of the shadows.
== Unknowns ==
=== Current ===
* What gives the Coral Breaker the ability to break through coral?
* Why was Lucia Bonebeard imprisoned?
* Where are Lovich and Hazzel? How are they doing?
* Where is the ancient Blue Dragon?
* Where has the Immortal Man gone?
=== Completed or Removed ===
* Removed: How does the Lonely Coin move around?
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Knights of Magic - 07