Episode 215 - Falling Apart

## Synopsis

After storming out of the dinner, Bou returned to their room, where he paced around and stared out the window while trying to calm down. While the students were also heading back, they agreed they needed to talk with Bou about his outburst, and also confirmed that they still planned to take the the coin from him, as they had promised Seltie. Serinepth also told the group about her conversation with the foxfolk, and warned them to be careful what they bet. Eventually, they arrived back at their room, finding Bou staring out the window.

With the tension still high after the dinner, they quickly got into an argument about what had happened, with Bou questioning what they were even doing in Duplicity, and how their friend was probably lost already. Mira asked how he could possibly know how they were feeling, to which Bou said he had already lost all of his friends, and it was far too late to save them. He also asked how far they would be willing to go to save one person, if they would sacrifice their own lives to do so. Integrity told him that she had already broken her promise to save Bailey, and that she would not fail again, even at the cost of her life. He told them that he would need to see proof of this conviction to be completely convinced. When they had cooled down a bit, Mira told Bou that they knew someone who had managed to escape from the Plane, so it wasn’t impossible. He told her that it was fine if she wanted to hope, but also warned her not to get in his way, as he had nothing left to lose, then left the room to wait for the elevator.

After a brief moment the students joined Bou, and together they descended to the casino floor. While in the elevator, Mira tried to vaguely imply what they had learned from Horst, aware of the imp who was slowly lowering them down. Integrity started to loudly lament what a shame it was they didn’t know where the Fiend of Whimsy could be, how his rooms were sure to be very nice, and if only there was someone who could point them in the right direction, perhaps for a large tip. This had the intended effect of getting the imp to say they might have information about the Fiend’s whereabouts. Mira held out one of their casino chips, which the imp tried and failed to steal. So instead, he told them the Fiend could probably be found in the high roller’s rooms, where they would need to pay a fee to get it. He then started again to the chip in Mira’s hand, only for her to say she didn’t think thieves deserved tips. The imp started crying and apologising, until Integrity took pity and offered one of their lower value chips. Bou however, want going to let him go so easy, so picked the imp up and started shaking him.

Immediately, they felt the elevator start to plummet as the handle the imp had been holding started to spin rapidly. Serinepth tried to grab it, but was thrown off by the momentum. Within seconds, they crashed into the casino floor, the elevator destroyed in the impact. They heard heavy footsteps as a large fiend ran over, ripped open the doors and asked if they were ok. Bou blamed the imp, who he was still holding onto. The fiend took the imp from him and apologised for the experience, promising the imp would be dealt with.

Once they dusted themselves off, Mira went over to the high rollers room and asked about the entrance fee. The guards looked condescendingly at her before leaning in and feeling her it was 500,000 gold pieces per person. Mira thanked them an and went back to her friends and Bou. As they talked about what they could do, they noticed a wealthy looking patron approach the door, the guards looked at a signet ring on her finger before saying her family was always welcome, and let her into the room. Mira looked at Serinepth and suggested this might be a good time to throw her family name around, which she reluctantly agreed would probably be a good option.

Serinepth left to get cleaned and dressed up, while the others looked for another way into the high rollers rooms, including a pathetic looking imp who they could bribe. Eventually, they saw the familiar form of Diplin in a ragged old tuxedo, and decided he was the perfect mark. They approached him, and offered one of their large chips in exchange for getting them into the high rollers area. Diplin agreed to pretend to be a janitor, find a cart, then wheel them in. They then took a short rest while waiting for Diplin and Serinepth to return.

Eventually, Serinepth returned to the casino floor, drawing a lot of attention from the other patrons, and headed over to her grimy friends. She was wearing both a Sinderman family ring, as well as the ring given to her by the Queen, bearing the symbol of the Ashuan Kingdom. Soon after, Diplin returned with a large cart. Serinepth looked on in confusion as Integrity discreetly jumped into a small compartment in the cart. Bou changed his magical armour to resemble that of a royal guard, while Mira once again pretended to be a make up artist, in the hopes they would be allowed in with Serinepth. As they approached the doors, the guards looked towards Serinepth and asked who she was. She acted surprised that they didn’t know her, then told them her name and showed off the rings. The guards brought out a book, checking the crests on the rings, and eventually welcoming her into the high rollers area. They tried to stop Mira and Bou, though he convinced them they had to accompany Serinepth everywhere.

Once inside, they found themselves in a long hallway, the floor made of black and white tiles, and the walls were lined with white and blue torches. They heard chamber music and polite conversation coming from the other end of the hallway. Back in the cart, Integrity was sitting uncomfortably as water splashed on her from the bucket. The guards smiled and welcomed Diplin as he approached, saying he was family, and let him in without trouble. Integrity got out the cart, thanked Diplin for his help, and together the group headed into the high rollers area.

Before them they saw a vast room filled with platinum and marble, with lights dancing off the crystal blue walls. In front of them was a large open space that extended high into the sky, with staircases crossing between various points. They saw dozens of impeccably dressed patrons chatting around the tables. All around them were hundreds off imps, waiting hand and foot to fulfil any desires the patrons had. In the centre of the open space in front of them, they saw a giant roulette table, with a line of people queuing for it. On a pedestal in the centre of the table, was a smaller table, with nine imps playing cards.