Cracks in Confidence

> Rime is feeling devastated from watching a child die in front of her eyes. Amber and Ivan seek to comfort her in the only way they know how...
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## Summary

Amber flies over to the Aryvandaar Castle to scrub off the stomach acid from diving into the Tarrasque. Ivan goes to her side and calms her down because she's panicking at what Asmodeus could want of her. Ivan promises her to end her life should she do something she would regret. Beleen teleports the duo to the others.

The rest of the group arrives at the castle with Jeminya hurrying inside. Sazaen greets them as Jalerom directs Gareth to another prison. Carlton leaves to get a meal while Jalerom talks to Nora who's unhappy to still be at odds with her brother. Jalerom decides to eventually talk with Gareth one on one. Varog also takes Iven-Lovas home.

Amber, Ivan and Beleen appear with Amber approaching Rime and giving her a hug apologizing for getting the child killed. Oakvale then shows up asking if she's okay. Rime decides to talk with Sarita.

Jalerom and Faerthurin pass by Miss Seria's room who's comforting a girl named Lhark who lost everything in Salania Forest. The pair decide to adopt Lhark after the war. She's delighted for the news and decides to tell Lhark the good news. Meanwhile Miss Seria leaves which concerns Jalerom so she goes after her. He spots her going into the undercroft but Rime goes with Jalerom.

They follow her to Simula's old laboratory. Jalerom trips on some stairs getting the attention of a dark bard so Rime and Jalerom use invisibility to hide. Their interest is peaked so they find Miss Seria talking with Nion and some drow. It turns out that she is Eilistraee in disguise. She spots the duo and they drop their spells. Nion hugs Rime for being a 'sister' while Rime is off-putted by the amount of hugs she's getting.

Elistraee escaped when the portal to the abyss was opened and took on a disguise to help those in need. Just then Jalerom thinks about what the ultimate plan might be: rewriting the Primeval Pact using the Tarrasque blood as an ingredient. Jalerom notes that they have two ingredients thanks to one of the spells in the Grimoire of Virtue. The other ingredients are the horn of a demon lord, the bile from a twelve headed hydra and the gizzard of a white dragon. Jalerom is concerned because this involves Amber's deal with him and that Asmodeus wants Rime to cast it.

Jalerom then begins worrying about the difficult decisions and that it was the reason he was made general. Rime calms him down by saying that she's a sorcerer not a wizard and that Asmodeus has no hold on her. However she still has issues with her parents being gone so Eilistraee embraces her. They promise to stop Asmodeus.

Nion then reports that Ravvas is trying to eliminate drow who are 'tainted' much like her and the dark bards much like his predecessor. He's taking out anyone impure so Nion asks for the party's help.

## Notable Events

* The party returns to the Directian castle
* Amber Hawthorne apologizes to Rime Bowerstone and calls her Lazuli for the first time
* Jalerom and Faerthurin decide to adopt Lhark when the war is over
* Jalerom and Rime visit Simula's laboratory
* Miss Seria is revealed to be Eilistraee in disguise
* Jalerom has an idea of what Asmodeus's plan is

## Trivia

* Lhark is erroneously stated to be male in this episode, but it is confirmed later that she was in fact female in her first appearance.