The Killer Kisses

In the morning(26:10), Maudit wakes up to find his and Deirdre's room covered in acid, with a note from Deirdre saying that she needed to go talk to Eachthighern. Deirdre heads to the clearing where she met Eachthighern so many times, and finds him, seemingly injured and marked with some kind of a curse. She moves to heal him, but he tells her it is of no use - this is the work of the Mad Lich King. He says that making her village forget about her was indeed his work, that he did it to keep the Mad Lich King from going after her too. He does say that her mother was taken, and he believes it was the Slience that took her, because she's a Keeper.

He's disappointed (45:06) that she lost faith in him, and tells her that he made a deal with Tatiana - swearing to her that Deirdre would always be faithful to him. He says that he put his own power, along with her life and mortality on the line, and now she's broken that trust. She insists that she is still his, that this was just a misstep. He tells her that, by the deal he made, if he releases her, Tatiana will heal her, but he may not see her any more, and she would now serve under his father, Koriel, the god of Ki-rins. Deirdre says she will take the deal, but it must include Tatiana healing Eachthighern as well. Eachthighern says that he shouldn't have pulled her into this life, that his attention is what brought the Covenant to her - that they allied with the Queen of Air and Darkness to burn it down and kill her and her family with fiend fire.

Eachthighern takes her to see Tatiana(1:10:12). Deirdre offers Tatiana some of her celestial blood in return for Tatiana healing Eachthighern. Tatiana accepts, and heals her, but not Eachthighern. Eachthighern tells her that part of his deal with Tatiana was that Deirdre would be healed if she came and bargained herself for Eachthighern. Tatiana says she will work on Eachthighern on her own. Eachthiern and Deirdre return to the forest, and he tells her that Varonestra warned Eachthighern in time to save her life the day that her house was burned. He says that every time he came to see her outside of the clearing, he paid a price for it.

Back at Synestra's(1:39:46), Maudit shows Rey the acid in his room. The two of them and Kesra go eat some breakfast, and Kesra asks Rey to show him some Paladin abilities. Leona and Maudit come along to watch. He teaches her to cast spells called Compelled Duel and Wrathful Smite, and the ability to sense certain kinds of creatures. As he does so, she senses a fiend just 30 feet behind her.

The four of them spring into action(2:00:31) against the creature, which turns out to be a black Abishai, which says it's come for the princess Macierre. It creates magical darkness around itself, and, as they kill it, a second one appears. With Rey and Kesra going unconscious, Maudit's arm shifts into a dragon claw as he continues to attack. Leona heals Rey and Kesra, and Kesra finishes off the second creature.

Synestra returns(2:46:40), having been sent a message from Leona. She tells them that these creatures work for Asmodeus. Deirdre returns and helps with healing. Synestra is surprised that the fiends were able to find the princess, and suspicious that it happened so soon after the party arrived. She does mention that there are some strange people in town, though. Kesra asks Synestra to identify her holy symbol - which she does, as a symbol of Pelor - and also asks her who the Dark Commander is - which she doesn't know.

Rey comes over to talk to Leona(3:02:22) - he makes sure she's uninjured, and thanks her for healing him. She says she's glad she's ok. Deirdre examines Maudit's arm, but doesn't know what caused it. She tells Maudit about the Mad Lich King attacking Eachthighern, and the deal she made. She asks Maudit for a hug, and tells him it's the first hug that hasn't hurt in almost 10 years.

Leona steps outside(3:17:39) and contacts Roman. He tells her he's in Adare and wants to see her, and she tells her she needs an hour or so (break skip - 3:27:17). She comes back to find Kesra keeping an eye on her, and goes back inside, looking in Synestra's library for a book with a love story.

Deirdre pulls Maudit(3:31:07) aside as everyone is resting. She tells him that she gave Tatiana some of her blood as part of her deal. ~~She also says that Eachthighern is still her patron, but nothing more.~~(this was retcon'd away later).

Leona heads into town(3:36:41), and finds Roman at the bar in the tavern. They head up to his room, and he tells her that he found her parents, just south of Wolfecrest. Their names are Santi and Hazel Hallowell. He also tells her that they've found out that it was some kind of poison that killed his father, and only people in the family had access to it. He also tells her that he thinks there's a mole in their group, leaking their secrets. She tells him a little about what's been going on with her friends, too.

Back at the Moon Tree(3:55:37), they begin wondering where Leona is. Lena asks if she's gone to see Roman, and tells them that he's part of the Silence. Kesra heads to the tavern and asks the bartender about Roma and Leona, but the bartender refuses to tell her anything.

Deirdre asks Synestra(4:04:41) about who the Silence are. Synestra says that there was a woman who gave her life after the Dawn War to protect mortals from immortals. Her youngest daughter founded the Silence to keep that kind of power out of the wrong hands. Legends say that they were corrupted by Vecna at some point to keep secrets, destroy powerful spells, etc. Maudit also asks about what happened with his arm, but she doesn't know anything about it. He shows her the damage.