Fin-Locked & Loaded

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 42: Fin-Locked & Loaded, we left the scene of the Mollefaire shipwreck sharing mixed feelings but in good health with preserved resources – which was perhaps more important as we inched ever closer to our date with the Shade Assembly in Finlock Forest.

On our approach to the isthmus, we found the area eerily void of structures or signs of life – a sense of unease that only worsened as Graven was greeted once again by a projection of Q'usñi's second cleric.  This time, however, the image of his other half was tied to a specific location, with the events taking place right before his eyes – which led us to believe the half-orc may have beaten us to the bridge… and could even be in the Shade Assembly right now.

The thought of playing catch-up at such a crucial time was unsettling, but Pockets was our only way inside unless we wanted to march across the isthmus – so there was nothing to do but head down to the foggy harbor where our rendezvous was scheduled for tomorrow, assuming our guide hadn't experienced any setbacks.

After securing the area, we found that the fog afforded us some peace of mind with how well it hid our whereabouts, so we used the remaining hours of the day to make any last-minute preparations and steel ourselves for the task ahead.

Safira tended to her bow, Graven offered a prayer to his family and Orba – taking advantage of a rare moment when her magical reserves weren't depleted or in dire need – summoned the Sunken King to follow up on a few things he'd said during our showdown at Myriad Meadow.

Now bound to a new master, the undead spirit hadn't retained all of his previous memories, but he dug deep enough into his mind to recall some information about Orba's mother and father – the former having died in childbirth and the latter somehow cognizant of what his daughter might become, thus necessitating her relocation to the Halls of Transmutation.

When night was upon us, our watches were mostly uneventful with the exception of Erland, who once again found himself talking to Cypress and Berry – and questions were renewed as to whether they were real or merely manifestations of Erland's subconscious.  At the end of their chat, his attention was drawn to a piece of paper hidden in the bushes that contained only two words written with familiar penmanship: "Hello, Erland."

Did Rujeni Grahmari somehow know we were here – or was it merely an educated guess based on where he thought we might pass through?  It was impossible to know for certain and hopefully time would tell, but Erland vowed to stay focused on the mission at hand – for any significant distraction could be the difference between failure and success… or even life and death.

On the following day, we breathed a collective sigh of relief when Pockets arrived not only ready to escort us – but carrying a cache of supplies courtesy of Khlyff Ironcloud, who had gotten word from Graven that we'd depleted our stock during the fight against the Coldlight Walker.

Pockets didn't waste time or mix words in outlining his plan, which involved crossing the bay and then accessing a series of subterranean caverns that would bring us up from underneath the holding pens.  It was his estimation that sneaking back out was beyond wishful thinking – and our time would be better served coming up with an excellent excuse for why we'd broken in when we were inevitably caught.

As that fact was rattling around in our brains, we had some time to kill while Pockets met with a contact – but when he returned hours later, the full weight of what we were about to attempt started to sink in.

Using half-horse, half-fish hippocamps, we charged across the ocean riding parallel to the isthmus – a freeing, exhilarating feeling that unfortunately would not last as we approached the shores of Finlock Forest.  With the beach coming up at an alarming speed, Pockets gave the signal and we plunged into the depths – and we found ourselves swallowed up by the dark void of the ocean.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: two natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by Anthony and Riley.