Ep. 24 The Journey Back Chapter 3

## Listen

Ep. 24 The Journey Back Chapter 3

—Douglas Adams, *The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul*

After their long absence, the party returns to Mistmarsh with Jacob in tow. Things go a bit sour when they realize Trant is back in Xandrar, the Red Owl is the sister to the king of Karrnath and just sold them out, and Gerald has never flown over water before.

## Synopsis

### Return to Mistmarsh

Beric, Dex, Therudak, Farlan, and Jacob all find themselves back where it all started: Mistmarsh. They walk through the portal in the back of the Dhakaani ruins and start heading towards Gram right away. They realize they've left Trant behind in Xandrar, and tell Jacob that they'll send him a message telling him that Jacob is back.

Midway there, Therudak hears Commander Bala's voice over the sending stones demanding to know where he is, and telling him to report to Sharn as soon as possible. They have things to discuss about their last mission. He lets the party know and they all agree that they'll deal with the Jacob situation first, then report back to Bala. Farlan breaks away from the party to report back to the druids.

They can see the building of the lightning rail has already started improving business in Mistmarh; new roads and buildings have been build and it seems like it's prospering. Therudak notices Jacob with a tear in his eye, and he comforts him. Noticing the exchange, Dex calls up Bala and explains how they got from Xandrar to Mistmarsh so quickly and asks if she'll send word to Trant that Jacob is back. Bala is flustered and doesn't have much time to talk, but tells him she'll get the message sent.

Walking through town, the people greet Dex and Beric with warm but confused smiles and they hear Alben's voice calling from the door of the sheriff's station, asking where they've been. Beric tells him they've been doing contract work with the Dark Lanterns, and Alben slowly backs away and shuts the door. Beric assumes he's calling Ruken to report that to him.

Curse-Bringer appears in Beric's hand. Beric, confused, says he didn't summon the sword and tries to let go, dismissing it like he always does, but the sword falls to the ground. After a moment of shocked silence Dex reaches down and tries to pick it up, but it shoots back into Beric's hand and informs him that things will be different from now on. Beric starts demanding an explanation, but Curse-Bringer disappears before he can finish his sentence.

### Through the woods to go and see Gram

They move on to Gram's house, and she greets them with kind words(except Therudak, who she doesn't know and is slightly confused about). With a glance she recognizes Jacob, despite him being fifteen years older, saying she'd know those eyes anywhere. She invites them inside for tea. Jacob helps her prepare it while Beric puts away his borrow book.

They all sit down with their tea and Gram asks what brings them to Mistmarsh again. Dex and Beric explain getting Jacob out of Mabar and traveling through the portal. Dex pulls the locket from his pocket and Gram's smile fades. He tells her it's the only thing that kept Jacob alive. Gram takes the necklace and slips it on, taking comfort in its presence. She confesses that she knows much more than she's let on, and she's not who she says she is.

*"What does the name Lavira Tagor mean to you?"
—Gram*
Without hesitation Beric shifts out of his seat to one knee. Dex, not caring about the Flame but wanting to respect Beric, follows suit. Therudak is just sipping his tea.

Beric wants to know what she's doing in Mistmarsh, and Gram tells them her time was up; the Flame picked a new Speaker, and she could choose to live our her days in Thrane as a crone who lost her gift or go somewhere and start a new life. Possibly help people, give them guidance when needed. Every Speaker, when removed from their position, is given a piece of the Flame to carry with them. There are items that can channel the Flame in a very direct way, so direct that if you take them into the presence of the Silver Flame the item will take some of it with them, and that's what the locket is.

Beric tells her everything they've been dealing with - the invasion from Mabar, the planar Gates, and even Curse-Bringer. Jacob tells her everything that happened to him in Mabar. When she hears about Draconos she says she'll pray for him, but she doesn't sound like she has much hope.

The magic in the locket was created by the giants and perfected by the Dhakaani goblins to hold radiant energy, to use sparingly or in great force. No one in Thrane, where there was a chest full of these items, knows the nature of what goes into it. As she explains Dex hands her his ribbonweave and tells her they found the items in some Dhakaani ruins, and they all use radiant energy. Gram places her hand over the gem in the hilt and closes her eyes. She says it feels like her locket except for the gem. The gem they need to find is brilliant red with silver flowing through it, not purple with amber light. In the presence of the Silver Flame the light grew so bright that the gem exploded and an orb of energy was left behind. She tells them that with a skilled enough hand they could swap out the gems in their items.

*"Ours are purple with amber light, so…where's the Amber Flame located?"
—Jeff*
### The Red Owl Revealed

Gram mentions running into Trant and asks how much they're aware of what's been going on since they talked to the druids. She gets up after they start explaining and she realizes not much, and starts shuffling towards her desk where she sorts through some papers. Just then, Therudak hears Bala over his Sending Stone asking where he is and orders him to get on a lightning rail to Sharn immediately. Gram returns with the *Sharn Inquisitive*. There's a picture of who they know as the Red Owl on the cover hugging the Brelish king. The headline reads:

> Rogue Brelish Agents Kidnap and Accost Haydith ir'Wynarn
>
>

Before anyone can comment on the paper, Therudak gets up and informs them he needs to head to Sharn. Beric tries to stop him, saying the Red Owl is trying to start a war and now the king thinks they kidnaped Haydith ir'Wynarn. Dex grabs the paper and confirms that she told them their names and physical descriptions.

Beric gets on his speaking stone and contacts Commander Bala and asks her about the article, and why the Red Owl is free. Bala explains that they only have to much power; they can apprehend people but their strength only reaches so far when it's someone like Haydith ir'Wynarn. Frustrated, Beric tries getting more answers from her but she doesn't know why the king is protecting the Red Owl. She wants Therudak to come to Sharn where he can be safe at their headquarters. Beric cuts of their discussion when he remembers he told Alben that they were working for the Dark Lanterns.

They discuss what would be the safest course of action, either going to Sharn or trying to figure it out out of the country (Crast has already been snuck out). Beric asks if his family is safe. Bala promises to make sure they're protected.

Dak starts leaving for the lightning rail and Bala stops him, telling him to stay with Dex and Beric. She suggests three places they might go: Zilargo, Darguun, or Xen'drik, but anywhere outside of the five nations would be fine. They're to go to Vathirond to meet up with a Dark Lantern controlled airship that will take them wherever they want. She tells them to contact her any time they need help. They have agents in Xen'drik and there are a handful she would trust with her life, including Crash and Therudak.

After they hang up, Grams stands and says if they're going on a journey they'll need food, and goes into the kitchen.

### A Visit From Alben

They hear a knock on the door; it's Alben ir'Clarn. Dex stealthily climbs out a window, changes into Borahn Prum, walks to the front, and comes up behind Alben with a dagger to his back. They walk in and Dex seats Alben on a chair. Alben is scared and asks who's poking him with a knife, to which Beric, having no idea what Dex's plan is, says uncertainly that he doesn't know. Alben asks if Dex is with *them*, apologizes to Beric, and tells Dex to *"just do it."* Dex says no he's with *them*, assumedly gesturing towards Beric and Dak. Everyone is confused.

Eventually they figure out that Alben did call Ruken and rat them out, but he told him they were going to Sharn and then found them to tell them to not go to Sharn. Everyone punches him to make it seem like they jumped him and ran off. (It doesn't seem like they're too bothered by this.)

Before leaving, Alben thanks them for their service while they were in Mistmarsh; he never gave them enough credit, and things have been a lot harder than he thought they would be. Dex suggests hiring Jacob. Alben leaves and Gram, after prompting from the whole party, comes out with her prepared food.

*"Here you go. It's fish and pickle sandwiches, I hope you like it."
—Gram*
### To Xen'drik

They depart for Vathirond. After a couple hours they see the tower Bala talked about, and an airship just beginning to dock. Crast is there with his hood pulled up. They tell him they're heading to Stormreach and they all start heading towards the ship. Dex, remembering his previous time on the Roving Badger, gets super pumped and runs to the ship like a kid on Christmas.

Gerald Hightower greets them once again. He's excited to go to Stormreach; he's never flown over the water before, so this should be fun. At that, Dex grabs a feather fall belt and slaps it on. The airship pulls away and starts speeding up as the sun begins to set over another Eberron day.

End of episode.

## Locations

* Dhakaani Ruins
* Mistmarsh, Breland
* Vathirond, Breland

## Quotes

"Philip has a Tinder. That's not true."
"What?!"
"He's absolutely married and that's not true. And um…he's married and monogamous and that's not true. Uh…anyway…"
"I feel like you've said 'that's not true' too many times and it's become ambiguous knowing what you've attached it to."
"Fair enough. He doesn't have a Tinder because of his monogamous marriage."
"He doesn't have a Tinder that's not true."
"G\*\*\*\*\*\*."
*—Jeff, Philip, and Eric*

"So the first brother says, 'I wanna be a billionaire.' Genie says done. Second brother says, 'I wanna be the richest man in the world.' Genie says done. Third brother says, 'I want for my arm to rotate clockwise *constantly*.' That's their first wish. Genie says now your second wish. First brother says—now you wanna know, don't ya? First brother says, 'I wanna be married to the most beautiful woman in the world.' Second brother says, 'I wanna have the secret to know what women want.' Third brother says, 'I want my left arm to rotate counter-clockwise *constantly*.' Genies says okay third wish. First brother says, 'I wanna be the next president.' Genie says, 'Well I can't make it an election year but you will be the next president.' Second brother says, 'I wanna be the most powerful man in the world.' Genie says done. Third brother says, 'I want my head to nod up and down constantly.' Couple years pass, brothers come back together. First brother says, "My life is great. I reinvested over half of my billion, I'm richer than I ever thought, my wife and I are madly in love, and I'm going—it's so certain that I am going to be next president my opponent is rumored of dropping out.' Second brother says, 'My life is great. I just donated your entire net worth to charity and I'm still the richest man in the world. Every girl I've ever asked out has said yes. And the reason your opponent's about to drop out is cause I got him in my pocket.' Third brother says, 'Guys, I think I f\*\*\*\*\* up!'"
*—Jeff*