S3 Ep7

Full Episode

Dirty Twenty Recap

Buckle in, y'all. This one's a doozy.

### Egg-cellent Timing

The drake eggs are hatching! Now’s the time! The gang splits up a little, with Balthier heading back to the Sinclaire ships to tend to his egg, and everyone else heading to Snibbles’ workshop (aka Egg Central). The gang walks into what look initially like a room full of lizards. The blue drake lies sleeping in the corner, the red drake is tearing her egg apart, the silver drake is running around the room manically, and the black drake is watching the others from a corner. Balthier finds his green drake devouring his egg, apparently very hungry. The group takes a few moments to establish bonds with their respective drakes, as the moments after hatching are integral. Drakes typically imprint upon the first person they see. Everyone enjoys the relative peace before Val suggests that they make their report to the Admiral right away. With their drakes tucked away in their pockets, hats, and in between folds of their clothing, the group (minus Balthier) make their way to Damask’s office.

The drakes have names too! Let’s clear those up now:

Balthier’s green drake: RhenaWedd, male

Fin’s blue drake: Egg, male

Snibbles’ black drake: Huscafal, male

Rory’s silver drake: Roo, female

Valanthe’s red drake: Pepper, female

On the walk there, Rory asks Val about how he’s feeling. He had been a bit quiet in the prison ship and seemed upset. Val expresses that he wishes the group hadn’t let the mages out; he feels that it wasn’t their choice to make. Rory apologizes for rushing into freeing the prisoners; she felt strongly that their conditions were cruel. The group wonders together if they were overzealous in releasing the mages. Rory feels that they did the right thing, and Val continues to doubt.

### Not Mad, Just Disappointed

They arrive at the Admiral’s office, and it turns out there’s no need to worry! Damask isn’t angry, everyone. She’s just very, very, very disappointed. And maybe a little angry. She scolds the group for letting the powerful mages out of their confines; if the group had waited, then the leadership would have been able to decide what to properly do with these dangerous criminals. She tells them on no uncertain terms that if those mages lash out or harm anyone, the fault will be on the party for releasing them. She asks the party why they did such a thing; the Flotilla is already stretched thin in terms of security. Rory explains that it was empathy that led her choice, and Snibbles and Fin credit their curiosity. Perhaps, given a new chance, the mages could be of great use to the Flotilla. Rory suggests that they are not actually sociopathic killers, but rather people who could find new purpose aboard a new community. The Admiral dismisses this as naivety, claiming “people are not like that.” Fin draws a parallel: if Carinth had never been released from prison himself and given another chance, the world would have been devoured by the Metentis or Libidine. The Admiral shoots it down, saying that the tales of Carinth have been greatly exaggerated. Snibbles backs up Fin, saying that historical records line up surprisingly well with the events in Fin’s comics. Regardless, the Admiral doesn’t care about events that happened centuries ago; she is tasked with the safety of the people who remain alive now. The Flotilla’s resources will likely only last another 10 years, and the factor of three wild mages with intentions unknown could doom everyone. There’s only one thing everyone can seem to agree on: we won’t know the consequences of the party’s actions until something happens. The Admiral states that the three mages are currently being detained, and reintegration into society is being discussed. However, that measure is being taken only because the Admiral has been left with no other option. Once again, the Admiral states that if these mages harm anyone, it will be on the party’s conscience. They acted impulsively and without thinking, and perhaps many will suffer because of it. Val looks miserable, as he already agrees with the Admiral that the party should have waited, and the rest of the party begins to internally question their choices. It’s a shame that they don’t have their resident diplomat there to defend their actions; Balthier remains at the Sinclaire estate, unaware that the group is meeting with the Admiral.

But there is another matter. The Admiral addresses Fin, claiming that they received a letter from someone they believe knows him. A man named Silas: one of Fin’s best friends from home. The letter is a call for help. Silas’s people are under attack from unknown assailants, and Silas pleads for the Flotilla to send help. Fin asks whether they intend to help Silas, and the Admiral responds: “Should I?” Fin knows that the Admiral is already upset and he is not in a place to negotiate. However, he vouches for Silas’s character. Silas is a good person, and was a good friend to him. He doesn’t know how Silas knows he’s on the Flotilla, though. To that end, Fin tells the Admiral that she doesn’t need to worry about sending people to help his community; he’ll go there himself. The Admiral relents though, saying that they may be passing through the area soon and that, if there are enough resources and it’s not too much trouble, they will *perhaps* send Sea Drakes down to help Silas and his people.

Returning to the previous topic, Snibbles claims that they didn’t mean any harm to the Flotilla. The Admiral agrees; it was impulse, or perhaps stupidity, that guided them. The group makes their way to leave, with Rory attempting to hang back to have a discrete word, but Val approaches the Admiral first. He says that he has something to say privately. Damask leads him to a private corner, and Val struggles with what he wants to say. However, after a moment, he tells Damask that the whole effort to release the prisoners was Balthier’s idea. He thinks that Balthier freed the mages in an effort to claim more political power or magical resource for his family. The Admiral asks if Balthier coerced everyone into releasing the prisoners and Val denies it, saying that they all claim some responsibility for what happened, but that Bal was the “driving force”. The Admiral levels with Val and says that many people relied on Celeste, and that she wasn’t afraid to make hard calls. That was what made her a good leader, and it was a horrible weight on her. Having the lives of others put on you is the hardest burden to bear. Val comes from such a strong family; in the coming days, that strength will be tested. She will need Val to be honest with her; not for anyone’s sake, but for the memory and legacy of Celeste. She implores him to tell her if anything else at all happened aboard the ship. She can’t understand why they circumvented her authority and made the decision to release the prisoners. Val agrees that they should not have done it; all he remembers in particular is that the elf, Inialos, seemed to get worked up at the mention of Carinth’s name, and that Balthier seemed to think that his family had something to gain by freeing them-- possibly that he could talk them into his service. “It wasn’t right,” he says. The Admiral nods, and thanks him for his honesty. She sends him on his way. Before parting, Val says, “I’ll do whatever I have to.”

Outside, the group reflects on their talk with the Admiral. Fin explains to the group that he may have told a lie by omission; Silas was his best friend from home, but until now, Fin believed Silas was dead. If that’s true, who wrote the letter? Silas gave Fin the map that he used to reach the Flotilla; it would make sense that Silas would know he was here. He explains that the group is his best hope of saving Silas, and Rory asserts that they’re absolutely going wherever Fin goes. The group talks briefly about the ruby that he found after his night of drinking before breaking off. Snibbles, not feeling much like chatting after the talk with the Admiral, returns to their workshop. They tinker until they fall asleep. Val returns home and tucks his dad into bed before spending the majority of his night gazing at the stars, wondering how to live up to his mother’s legacy. Fin returns to the fishing boat he lives on, and reads comic books to his drake long into the night.

Cutting over to Balthier, he teaches his drake some basic commands using a handy Speak with Animals spell. His drake learns quickly despite his youth, and Balthier uses treats to reinforce his behavior. After that, Balthier heads to give in his report. He stops by Snibbles’ workshop to find the group, and finds it empty. He stops by the Thunder Bucket next, but the group isn’t there either. After that, he resolves to go to the Admiral alone. She greets him coldly, appearing tired. Balthier claims he couldn’t find his friends and so they can’t be there with him to give their report alongside his. The Admiral retorts that his friends have already been here, and that Balthier’s report will be a fine supplement for anything that they failed to convey to her. Balthier is confused that they would have gone without him, but offers to answer any questions that the Admiral has. He retells the entire story, from their entry onto The Solitude until their return; doesn’t hold anything back. The Admiral claims that everything seems to make sense. Balthier asks about the prisoners and the Admiral explains that the reintegration process is beginning. Balthier is excited by this, and says as much. “Exciting is one word for it,” retorts the Admiral. Before sending him on his way, the Admiral asks him to deliver a message to his father. Cedric Valoris, and not Guiscard Sinclaire, will receive a promotion to Executive Officer. This seems a bit out of the blue to Balthier, given that he’s just given a report on an apparent success; a ship cleared of hostiles with no bloodshed, and three powerful mages currently embarking on the process to become citizens of the Flotilla. Is this decision, with this particular timing, and put specifically on Balthier himself to deliver to his father, possibly a consequence of Balthier’s own actions? He asks as much, and the Admiral denies it. She is simply tired of Guiscard sending messenger after messenger to her doorstep to enquire about the position, and perhaps if he hears the news from his son, he will finally get the picture. Still, it’s curious, and it puts an immediate damper on Balthier. He heads right back to his family’s ships, and he goes to his parent’s chambers. He finds Guiscard at his desk, and delivers the news. Guiscard inquires why Balthier is giving him news that he already knows, and Balthier explains that the delivery was simply the Admiral’s orders. After that, unable to find his friends, Balthier just goes to bed, wondering about the events of the day.

Before retiring, Rory heads to the Thunder Bucket. She approaches the bar and finds the man she spoke with before about dancing on the weekends, and lets him know that something came up. She’s very sorry, but won’t be able to perform after all. The bartender is sad to lose the act, as her talent isn’t easily replaced, but Rory recommends that he seek out Pewter to take her place. She roams the Flotilla for the rest of the night, until morning.

### A New Day

The drakes rise at the crack of dawn, and the group wakes up to the sound of mischief. Pepper spends some quality time terrorizing Isaac. Rory takes her drake for a Flotilla-wide sprint and learns afterward, by simply asking her, that her name is Roo. Fin’s drake, Egg, is looking curiously out at a storm on the horizon. Huscafal and RhenaWedd, as the bearers of the fanciest names, are mostly behaving themselves; especially RhenaWedd, having received more specialized training from Balthier the night before.

Immediately after her morning run with Roo, Rory makes her way back to the Admiral. Damask looks as if she hasn’t slept a wink since the last night. Rory apologizes for disturbing her, and maybe tells a small fib: the whole debacle with the prisoners had been her idea all along, and she set them free before her friends could stop her. Balthier and Valanthe opposed her actions, and Fin and Snibbles tolerated what she did out of their own curiosity. The decision to free the prisoners had been hers alone. We all, knowing what Val told Damask last night, facepalm on Rory’s behalf. Her deception roll is pitifully low, but the Admiral goes along with it, saying that she suspected as much. Rory lets the Admiral know that she wants to be mindful of the other’s reputations, and wanted to “come clean” as soon as possible. The Admiral lets Rory know that she understands that she is naïve and young. However, the mages that were imprisoned are the type of people who believe that their lives and decisions are worth more than that of others. Damask implores Rory to understand that the mages are wrong to think that. These mages murdered “because it fancied them”. Rory asks if the prisoners admitted as much, and the Admiral gestures to the document on her desk. Their crimes are clear.

Rory inquires about the ledger; the Admiral said last night that the stories detailed in history books and comics are exaggerated. They are meant to sell copies, not to actually depict the truth. Rory asks what makes Damask so sure that the ledger is truthful, if Rory’s history books are not. Could the bloodthirstiness in the book be exaggerated? The Admiral doubts it, saying that the authors of the ledger, who kept track of these prisoners, are more likely to be trustworthy than the criminals themselves. Damask cannot overlook the risk of the ledger being true. Rory asks for clarification. Is the Admiral saying that the ledger should be taken at face value instead of her books because recent histories are more important to adhere to than older histories? Because more recent records of history are bound to be more accurate than older ones? The Admiral says that we need to learn from all histories in order to avoid past mistakes. Rory, feeling her original question remains unanswered, says that maybe she’ll understand the Admiral’s meaning eventually. The Admiral implores her not to take it too hard, given her age. She departs feeling unsatisfied.

Snibbles steps out for a bit first thing in the morning to do some research; they had collected a total of three books during their time on the Trials of Agamen, and begin the process of not only deciphering them, but translating them into Common. With a handy Natural 20 on their investigation roll, Snibbles learns that the language in the books is something called Deep Speech, which isn’t often spoken today. They set to work on their translations, and alternate between tinkering and talking to Huscafal. Val spends the morning attempting to play games with Pepper, but with her fiery temper, she doesn’t appear too keen on playing along. Rory finds Fin in his fishing boat, having made a toy (similar to a rain stick) out of ball bearings for Egg. Rory asks if Fin is worried about Silas, and Fin is a little conflicted. He hopes that Silas is alive. He says that Silas was a genasi who helped him find Rory and gave him the map he used to find the Flotilla. The note that the Admiral showed him seemed to look like Silas’s handwriting, but still, Fin isn’t sure that the whole thing is legitimate. Still, they decide together that even if the note wasn’t from Silas and instead was written by someone who wishes Fin harm, they’ll simply kill them. They’re good at that, after all.

### A Fractured Party

Over time, everyone begins to regroup at Snibbles’ workshop. Baradad has offered to help everyone train their drakes, so they all begin to trickle in and gather before heading out in search of the Dragonborn. Balthier arrives first, and immediately, the energy is awkward. Snibbles, still ashamed from the tongue lashing from the Admiral, can barely meet Balthier’s gaze. Balthier, who did not receive any scolding from Damask, is a little puzzled by Snibbles’ behavior, but brushes it off. He asks what Snibbles is working on, and they explain that they are translating the books from “Darkling Island”. Balthier marvels that they aren’t calling the island Paradise, and Snibbles remarks that perhaps this is the closest place to paradise they will find in their lifetime. Balthier reminds them that they still have other leads, but having received a strange vibe from the Admiral when he spoke with her, he isn’t sure he’s in much of a place to influence anyone into following those leads. Snibbles assures Bal that if there’s anyone who can sway the council, or the Admiral for that matter, to follow those leads, it’s him. After a moment, Balthier remarks that the group went to report to Damask without him. Snibbles thought that Balthier was busy for a moment, and that he would meet the group there. Balthier asks if anything happened, and if the Admiral was harsh. “She expressed profound disappointment in us,” Snibbles said. Balthier wonders why the Admiral didn’t share that harshness with him. Perhaps she was too tired, Snibbles guesses. She wouldn’t have had time to sleep. Either way, Snibbles has known Damask since she was appointed, and still isn’t any closer to understanding her. Balthier takes a moment to approach Snibbles and notices their sadness. He affirms them that the Admiral’s scolding isn’t anything to worry about. They did some good things, and it was a very eventful day. Snibbles just wants to put the drama behind them and make progress on their many projects. To that end, they complete their newest design; little bell toys for all the drakes.

Fin, Rory, and Val arrive at around the same time, and for the first time this episode, the whole group is together again. Fin sets to work at Snibbles’ bench making a megaphone-like device out of his old oil lamp. Bal approach Val, commenting that it looks like he hasn’t slept. He gives him a hug, which Val lightly returns; Val explains that it was a bit of a rough night. They had gone straight from the workshop to the Admiral, assuming Bal was busy on the Sinclaire ships. They smalltalk more about their drakes, and everything is nice for a while. Rory, meanwhile, beelines to Snibbles. She asks whether Snibbles believes she catches on quickly to new information. Snibbles believes so. She explains that she spoke with the Admiral that morning, and that she believes Damask is “wrong”. The Admiral had tried to explain something to Rory, and there was something about it that felt wrong at heart. She explains that she lied to the Admiral, and recounts the morning’s conversation. Damask believes that the mages are bloodthirsty sociopaths, but could only cite the ledger as proof. Given that the ledger didn’t contain information about their character, Rory can’t understand why the mages are being treated as though they are. Snibbles agrees that without multiple sources and different accounts of the mages behavior and crimes, it’s hard to condemn them. At this point, Val chimes in, saying that the ledger is enough to warrant caution. Bal also perks up, asking if this is really a point of concern. Rory tells Bal more about what the Admiral said last night: the prisoners should have remained locked up, because they are highly dangerous. Rory doubles down, though, saying that the brief information recorded in one ledger was not enough to justify leaving the mages in the conditions they found them in. Balthier agrees, but notes that the Admiral relayed none of these concerns or objections to him. Perhaps everything is handled? Rory clarifies that Damask was upset because the mages were securely contained, and now they aren’t. Balthier wonders if the Lucane is as formidable as he thought, given that the leader of the largest military ship in the Flotilla is scared of three people. Rory backpedals a bit and notes that she understands the Admiral’s concern from her perspective, but still doesn’t agree with the Admiral’s opinion. She asserts that they did the right thing. Balthier addresses the rest of the group: is this a concern to everyone else? Do they really believe they should have left those people suspended or sent them to the ocean? Snibbles explains that they were very curious, but that the conversation with the Admiral left them with some doubt. Balthier’s anger rises a bit; “Is that what we want to do? Let others make decisions for us?” Val pipes up, that they shouldn’t have let them completely out of their binds. Out of the goo tubes, maybe, but not out of their hand/mouth binds. Releasing those people wasn’t their decision to make; they made the choice for everyone on the Flotilla. “You’re damned right we did,” Balthier retorts. He asks for one outcome that would have been better than the one they provided. Leaving the mages handcuffed and gagged, to be interrogated and looked down upon as criminals, treated as less than human or worse, sent directly into the sea? That’s how you gain a grudge from a powerful magic user, not how you get them on your side. And furthermore, certainly nothing would have been accomplished by killing them. They did the absolute best they could have in their situation. Snibbles says that they won’t know that they made the right choice until something happens to prove either Balthier or Damask correct. Balthier stands up, fully angry at this point. The Flotilla has enough supplies to last 10 years, and that lifespan won’t be lengthened if they don’t take some risks. Risks like the Trials of Agamen, which all apprentices are forced to embark on, and where hundreds of the Flotilla’s youths have died over the years. They made a calculated risk that has the potential to gain powerful allies for the Flotilla, which could help them gain access to more resources, and potentially give them more time. Damned right they made that choice for everyone, and they should feel proud for making it. The Flotilla has 10 years. In that time, the leadership will have to decide who keeps access to resources. People like Rory and Fin will be thrown overboard. People like Snibbles and Val will starve. Balthier has the lucky inheritance of his family name, and it will fall on his shoulders to make more decisions exactly like this one. He can either take those risks now, with his friends beside him, or a few years down the line, when he’s already lost everyone he loves. At this point, he’s red in the face. Rory, puzzled, asks Bal if he’s upset. Before Bal can explain why he’s angry, an alarm is raised.

The Lucane is performing evasive maneuvers. The group, with their emotional talk interrupted, runs outside to find that the Lucane is separating from the rest of the Flotilla. A crowd is forming at the front of the ship, where screams and shouts can be heard. Various Drakes have guns and other weapons trained on a figure that’s hard to make out. Snibbles and Rory rush to the front of the crowd. Val turns to Bal and pointedly says that if this is one of the mages, this is their mess, and they’ll need to clean it up.

### Nature Embrace You

Rory uses her Echoes to glitch through the crowd, and reaches the front to an unexpected sight: Carric. His expression is completely blank, and a growing orb of energy is radiating from his hands. He appears to be muttering something: “It reaches out. It reaches out. One is one; and no more than one.” Immediately, Drakes train their guns on Rory, warning her to get back. Rory ignores them, calling out to Carric. She asks him to remember his name, but he doesn’t appear to hear her and continues muttering. Fin uses his boots to walk along the outer edge of the ship, hoping to get a better angle. Snibbles breaks through the crowd as well, and everything from here happens quickly. Snibbles yells out for Infinis and casts Thunderwave at Carric. Simultaneously, the orb in Carric’s hands explodes, and the Darkling disintegrates, caught in the force of two blasts. A Circle of Death rolls over the crowd, with Rory and Val taking the brunt of it. A hole is blown through the Lucane, and it rapidly begins to sink. Snibbles screams, “I’m going to fucking kill him!” and runs to their workshop to push out supplies to stop the boat from sinking. Fin swims up through the hole in the ship, and uses his Gust of Wind spell to propel water back through the opening. Balthier wastes no time administering direction to nearby civilians; he directs some folks to tend to the injured, and others to retrieve supplies. He then joins Rory down in the hull of the ship. Using her raw strength she begins to push the metal of the boat back into place. This feat wouldn’t be possible, but with the help of a Bardic Inspiration from Balthier, Rory pushes a fair bit of the boat closed. The both of them panting, ragged, and heavily injured, Rory yells out to Balthier: “I’M UPSET!” This would be a really great moment between these two characters, he gets halfway through saying “Me too”, before she lashes out and punches him in the chest. The wind is fully knocked out of him, and Rory heaves him onto a shoulder and climbs back up to the deck, scolding him the whole time: “This is a reason to be upset! You were upset before? When your friend was trying to have a discussion with you?? That is STUPID!” He doesn’t have much time to internalize the yelling, though, before being dumped onto the deck next to Val, who uses his Entangle spell to help seal other holes in the ship.

Snibbles seeks the Admiral, but she emerges at this moment with Inialos alongside her. She gives him and look and he gives a slight bow before walking to the front of the ship. Energy extends from his hands, and the ship appears to begin to rebuild itself. Parts reaffix themselves and the Lucane adjusts, appearing mostly back to normal. Inialos finishes the spell and begins to pant, the spell appearing to have taken a great deal of energy. Val also passes out at this moment, exhausted at the effort of using Entangle to keep a ship together. The Admiral begins to walk away with Inialos before being interrupted by Snibbles. They hold up the map to Darkling Island and implore the Admiral to find a team willing to go there, as that’s where the person responsible for this can be found. Damask tells them to bring them the map later.

As things begin to calm, Balthier drags the unconscious Val off to the side and apologizes to him for yelling. He puts a hand on Val’s forehead, kisses the back of his hand, and gives him a Healing Word. We all hold out a bit of hope for #valthier still.

Snibbles wastes no time beginning to research rudimentary explosives; basically, shrapnel grenades. This becomes their all-consuming purpose.

Fin goes to the place where Carric was immolated, finding Rory already there. They bless his ashy remains; “Nature Embrace You.” Fin regrets not going back to the island sooner. Maybe this could have been avoided. Carric was clearly beloved by his people, and was brave to depart from them. The two wonder about a possible connection between the Darkling’s plight and the disturbing figure they found in the hull of the Ariadne. Fin reflects for a moment, and says that though he wants to reunite with his friend, Carric trusted them to solve their problem. “Honor is rewarded,” he says. “He deserves justice.” Rather than pursuing Silas, Fin wants to go help the people on the island. Rory hates that Fin has to make that choice, but thinks it’s the right one. She also asserts that they won’t simply leave Silas’s people to their fate; they will return and resolve everything they can. Fin puts his hand in the scorch mark that remains of Carric, rubs the ash on one of his bolts, and departs. Rory spends the rest of the day and night doing as much heavy work as she can to help rebuild the Lucane. After some time, Bal jostles Val awake and chides him for nearly getting himself killed, and helps him back to Snibbles’ workshop. Fin makes his way back as well and asks Snibbles to make him an explosive bolt for his crossbow. The group discusses going back to the Darkling Island, but Balthier raises the point that if they were to leave now, with no proper planning with the Flotilla’s leadership, they wouldn’t be able to find the Flotilla again. All of their resources—the mages, the Flotilla’s library, other researchers— are all here on the ship. They would be stranding themselves on the island forever. Still, Snibbles resolves to track down and kill the priest if it’s the last thing they do, and Balthier agrees to try to get help from the mages. The night falls on the very long, difficult day. There are several leads that could direct tomorrow, but that’s tomorrow’s problem. For now, the entire group gets some well-deserved rest.

And that's it for Episode 7 of Dirty Twenty! Make sure to watch the full-length episodes on Youtube, or catch us live every Friday on twitch.tv/kanoadaddy at 9pmEST!