Episode 71

Seipora spends some time socializing with party goers. She listens a bit, gets in on some gossip, and eats some of the complimentary food. Seipora grabs a very big slab of wagyu beef (which is later fed to Kova) and has a one-off with a hungry dragonborn before wandering the hall looking around for K.

Lily continues dancing and socializes with those who she’s handed off to. Anthos surveys the room and pulls Lily back to his side. He warns her to deal with Ingred “before she makes a mess of the situation” and once again trades partners. Lily splits from the dance floor and grabs two drinks to approach Ingred with.

K looks for Eric Stromund, the infamous duelist, by asking various folks around the hall. One tells him to find a congregation of noble women. “He’ll be there”, they say. With this advice K eventually finds Eric. He is a blonde, very cocky human who is constantly being fawned over by a crowd of eager ladies. K very bluntly says a passive insult out loud and offends some of the women. He Introduces himself to the best of his abilities. Eric mocks K, but accepts a duel. They all head outside to a raised platform. A referee gives them some rules and they are both given finesse weapons. Eric continues to mock K, which the crowd eats up. He swings his rapier in a flashy manner. K gives himself some motivation by thinking about his party before they begin to duel.

Back in the hall, Marisol looks around for the elven man after losing sight of him. It’s by the dining area that she notices him dancing with some other women. She pings the group saying that she needs backup and swipes a steak knife from one of the table settings. K pings back, saying he is busy but will meet her there when he can. Anthos is the first to arrive. Marisol yanks him to the dance floor and does her best to blend in. She tells him that she wants to kill someone here, to which Anthos reponds calmly that it isn’t the time or place to do so. “Remember the list?” She says, “He’s the problem, he needs to die.” Anthos continues dancing with her and asks who and where? He needs more information. He pings everyone for a quick strategy meeting and convinces Marisol to step away from the floor.

Lily catches Ingred heading towards an elderly tortle sitting with a beautiful china tea set resting on a coffee table in front of him. He is wearing the traditional Tarlie attire. She hands the goblin a glass of champagne before whisking her back to the dining area. Ingred downs the drink in frustration.

Everyone eventually meets back up near the buffet. Marisol struggles to talk, but pulls out some steak knives from her dress. She tries her best to explain the situation and offends Ingred by telling her that she “sure knows how to pick them”. Marisol says that there is a monster in here, and that he *needs* to die. Anthos tells the group that they should probably take Marisol’s concerns seriously. Marisol shares that the elven man is known as Ly’kor. Ingred corrects her, saying that isn’t his name. She was told it’s actually Roykyl Prasad. It’s likely a pseudonym.

Marisol tucks the hair away from her ears, revealing that they are terribly burnt. The right has a large chunk missing from it, almost as if an attempt was made to cut it off. “This is what they do”, she says. The party has mixed responses, but everyone is quickly ready to support her decision. Anthos asks how they could get Prasad out of the room without causing a scene. They suggest either using Ingred as bait or getting him interested in some of the party’s historically significant items, seeing as he is a curator of such things.

Marisol’s nerves get to her and she pauses for a second to get sick. She wearily tells the group that Prasad has essentially owned her. Lily suggests that they should get proof of ownership. Marisol says she needs to leave, and is escorted outside with K to get some fresh air. She washes her makeup off in the fountain and K gives her a shoulder to lean on.

The party once again splits up. Anthos is tasked with keeping an eye on Prasad. He goes to the dance floor with Seipora, who is asked by Lily to dance with the elf. Lily takes Ingred to meet the tortle Tarlie. He introduces himself as Zeze Tarlie. The two share tea and have a short and open conversation.

They all meet up back at the buffet. While they reconvene, the head butler taps Lily on the shoulder and tells her that Asprig would like an audience with the party. They accept, but let Marisol and K stay outside. The group is led to a private area, awaiting them is Hank Asprig along with two women and two intimidating men. They sit down with Hank and are all offered champagne.

He talks with the party a bit about the auction they attended, mentioning that the following auction had a bigger audience than usual, and asks them a bit about themselves. “Where are you all from?” He asks, adding that he already knows about two of the party members. Lily thanks him for the invite and says that she’s from Gaoli. He looks at the others. Anthos says he’s from the Asurion region, specifically the town of Glay. When asked, Seipora says that she washed up on a ship and sprung up from the ocean. Ingred doesn’t answer the question, but says it would be more fun to guess. Hank suggests that she must be from either the Tian or Aima region. He also guesses that Seipora is maybe from Gristol, or perhaps Avista.

They go on to talk about the Plane of ice, the Sunken Valley, and Emelia. They all give her a toast. Hank says that if they come back to the auction he’ll give them an upgraded booth. He hopes that they will stay for the entertainment; a puppet show performed by the Regal Titans. Lily once again thanks him for the invite and tells him to let them know if he ever needs anything from them.

Outside, Marisol and K converse. The party finds them by the fountain and Seipora asks Marisol if she’s ok. “Do I look ok?” She responds sarcastically. Seipora also hands K a letter, which he pockets for later. Anthos makes a comment about Ingred abandoning the party, which leads to an argument amongst the two. K asks Lily what the next move is; getting more information or killing Prasad? She tells them that whatever they decide to do, they need to be tactical about it.

Lily goes back into the hall first and encounters Prasad, who introduces himself to her. He seems amused at how many of the party members he’s met so far, and would be interested in meeting the rest of them. The rest of the party follows after Lily and Prasad notices Marisol within the group.