S3 Ep12

Full Episode

Dirty Twenty Recap

### Diving Headfirst

The atmosphere on the Flotilla is intense. The crowd gazes out at these mysterious figures, who are now discernable as warforged. They have no clothes and no markings; just plain metal bodies and faces. After calling out “The Lord of Blades seeks an accord”, the figures all disappear below the waves. Murmurs break out among the crowd. Are these beings behind the attacks on the Flotilla? Can we trust them? As the figures descend, Balthier stands up on a railing and calls out, “We will meet this accord.” Various people begin rushing around to spread information and gather the Flotilla’s leadership, but things are moving slow. It’s clearly time for our favorite meddling kids to do what they do best. Fin dives below the waters to scope out the situation.

Fin, a speedy boi underwater, makes his way towards Gran Marcellia. Off in the distance, he sees a faint glow; a soft light blue shimmer. Making his way towards the light, Fin finds the city: Gran Marcellia lies beneath a dome of light, seemingly dry and preserved inside. Near the top of the dome, a number of giant mechanical eel creatures (exactly like the ones that attacked the Flotilla) drift in circles. It seems that the eels were under the control of Gran Marcellia’s current residents, as they appear to be guarding the city. The eels take note of Fin as he approaches, but do not move to attack him. Deciding to be bold, Fin walks toward the blue dome over the city with his hands in the air.

Meanwhile, up top, Fin has been gone for about 15 minutes. Bal considers their options; they could either request a very busy and complicated meeting with the Flotilla’s leadership and decide a path forward from there. OR, as no one appears to be stepping forward to resolve this time-sensitive issue, they could handle it themselves. They figure that if Fin isn’t back by now, it could be because he found trouble. And if their friend is in trouble, they ought to go after him, right? Rory dives in after Fin, while Bal and Val go to grab a ship. Snibbles pulls on their Cap of Waterbreathing and jumps in a few moments behind Rory, hoping to get a lay of the land. Bal and Val comment on Snibbles’ apparent growing courage; look at them, jumping in the water without fear!! Or, well, in spite of their fear maybe. Snibbles takes a minute to get a decent look at the environment underwater, and catches a glimpse of the blue light off in the distance. They return to the surface and call back to Bal and Val; Gran Marcellia is only a couple hundred feet away, no need to rush off for a ship. Val lets a nearby guard know that they are heading in after their friend, and the blond boys drop into the water to the sound of the guard’s protests. Rhenawedd has, of course, been at Bal’s heel this whole time, and the waterbreathing drake gets to enjoy a swim. Val and Snibbles stick together while Bal lets Rhenawedd pull him forward to catch up with Rory, so that at least four of them can regroup. Off in the distance, Rory does make out the city of Gran Marcellia beneath the blueish glow of the dome, and sees Fin walking slowly towards it with his hands up. Bal catches up, and they watch Fin walk right up to the dome, and disappear into an opening that appears.

### The Lost City

As Fin approaches, a large gate appears in the dome. The gate lowers, and on the other side, a group of armed warforged wait. They ask Fin if he’s here from the Flotilla; he answer simply, “Yup.” The apparent guards command him to follow and walk into the city. Which, by the way, the city is COMPELTELY DRY and almost perfectly preserved. Fin recognizes a lot of the landmarks from his comics, and asks the guard eagerly about Nobody’s Home and Pikadevil’s Casino. It seems the guards aren’t too friendly, though, and they keep on marching through the city towards the Upper District.

After Fin disappears inside the dome, the party decides it’s time to act now. They approach the gate themselves. Meanwhile, the head of the guard leading Fin stops for a moment, as if listening to something, then heaves a sigh. The guard demands the others to lead Fin on, and trudges back towards the gate, presumably to retrieve the new visitors. As the rest of the party are invited into Gran Marcellia, Bal asks confidently who he should speak to. The guards ask if they can be expecting more visitors, and Bal replies that they absolutely can; he does not represent the entirety of the Flotilla. “So just who the hell are you,” asks a guard. Rory chimes in: “We’re their best adventurers!” With that, the group is brought to catch up with Fin, and everyone is reunited once more!

The walk through the city is astonishing to the group. Massive buildings, a real skyline, not to mention a park, teeming with greenery. Snibbles begins immediately talking about their memories and studies of the city, much to the chagrin of the guards. The group is eventually led into the palace of Gran Marcellia, where Empress Josephine once ruled. They are asked to wait until they’re called back into a meeting with the so-called “Lord of Blades”. While waiting, the group decides that they do not represent the Flotilla and will not exactly be negotiating on the Flotilla’s behalf. The question then arises: what is THEIR party called? Who do they represent? A few potential party named get tossed around, like “The Mighty Fisters”. However, the group eventually lands on the Hands of Hope. This earns the approval of a nearby guard, Red, who appears to have grown a little endeared to the newly-branded Hands as he listened in on their conversation. Though Red is clearly under orders not to talk to the group, they get a bit of information out of him. The Lord of Blades, whoever he is, has gained control of Gran Marcellia’s defenses, and most of these warforged citizens predate the Great Flood. Two hours pass as the Hands of Hope wait to be called in to meet with the Lord of Blades, and to pass the time, Val pulls out five rose seeds. Using Druidcraft, he grows the seeds into five light pink blooms, and pins one to everyone’s chest. “Temporary badges for our guild.”

### Old Friends

Eventually, a figure does emerge from one of the palace’s many hallways: a woman in a mask, very similar to the one that Rory and Val saw in the water only last night. She invites the Hands of Hope to walk back to the meeting room, and asks the warforged guards to stay behind. The group follows her into a room that contains three others: a warforged figure seated at the head of a table, a much more intricately designed Automaton next to him, and another masked woman—this mask is VERY familiar to Rory and Val, as it actually is the one that they saw. And the mask only gets more familiar as its wearer leaps up and lunges at Rory with a serrated rapier in her hand, hissing “Why won’t you die?” Fin, Snibbles, and Val step in front of Rory. The masked woman that had led the HoH into the room steps forward as well, urging the second to put her weapon down so they can talk. The second woman isn’t deterred, saying, “That creature is mine.” Bal appeals to the warforged at the far end of the table, asking if this is how the Lord of Blades treats his guests. At that, the apparent Lord orders the masked woman to put her weapons down. The woman refuses, saying that she’s met Rory before; the first chance she gets, she’ll turn around and kill everyone. Rory, thoroughly confused, asks the woman what her name is, saying that she doesn’t know her. Hold on to your hats, folks. The woman rips off the mask, revealing an elven face framed by avian feathers. “My name is Ortusa Renier, and I will not accept anything less than your unconditional cooperation, do I make myself clear?”

After we’re all done losing our minds, Ortusa GODDAMN Renier storms out of the meeting room, slamming the door on her way out. The second masked figure pulls off her mask as well, revealing a blonde human-looking woman, appearing to be about in her 30s. “Apologies; my name is Ester Lumini, and my friend can be a bit… difficult.” As tensions begin to die down, Balthier takes a seat at the table, casting Tongues on himself. The Lord of Blades speaks up, introducing himself as Salvo. His appearance is notable; the metal that coats his body is nearly white in color, and his eyes are golden. The Automaton at the table produces a series of beeps, which Balthier understands to mean “I am the Superior.” Their appearance and gestures are clearly much more technical. Balthier opens with restating that he is not here to represent the entirety of the Flotilla; they have information on the possibility of a new world, and saw it prudent to bring this information to the Lord of Blades immediately. Ester inquires further, asking for details on this new world. The Hands of Hope explain that this supposed new world is not yet covered in water, but wish to keep the majority of the details to themselves until the Flotilla’s official representation arrive.

### Negotiations

Balthier notes that the Flotilla has now been attacked unprovoked twice, putting his people in a perilous position. He asks whether these attacks were made in order to protect Salvo’s people and territory; Salvo answers in the affirmative, calling the giant metal eel creatures “Leviathans”. The freedom of the Warforged population in Gran Marcellia is very recent history for Salvo and the rest of his people, and so he sees fit to defend his land fiercely from any and all potential threats. The warforged were instrumental in building Gran Marcellia, so it’s only right that they claim it now, in the aftermath of their slaver’s destruction. Salvo also states that if the people of the Flotilla are planning to occupy or move into the city, they will be turned away at best, and destroyed at worst. It was only at Ester’s urging that the Lord didn’t finish his destruction of the Flotilla. Balthier asserts that his people haven’t come to take anything that isn’t rightfully theirs. Gran Marcellia belongs to the Lord of Blades, and he respects that. His people are merely attempting to survive. Salvo asks why they’ve come at all to the city, and Fin procures the letter he received from Silas. Salvo says that he doesn’t know of this Silas person, but Rory detects a lie. Balthier leans forward and plainly states his mission: to investigate the salvation of all life on Ios.

Salvo asks whether Balthier plans to include the world’s warforged in that salvation. Everyone jumps in to assert that yes, absolutely; they travel with a warforged, and there are many warforged aboard their ships. To that specific point, Salvo states that he doesn’t care about the warforged that are not under his protection in Gran Marcellia, which confuses Rory a bit. Balthier explains that they want to find the portal that lies in the city, and take his people through it. If Salvo wishes, his people are welcome to join them, stay behind, whatever they want. The Flotilla’s population will not impose on the city. Salvo sits back and thinks for a moment, and Ester pipes up. The Flotilla is looking to pass through Salvo’s lands; what will they offer him in return? Balthier offers the Flotilla resources that cannot be brought through the portal. Massive ships, conversations with Flotilla scholars, anything that cannot be carried. Salvo leans back forward, asking why he shouldn’t just kill everyone and take their resources now. Balthier answers, the knowledge of the people who still live is invaluable. Old warforged, Elves, people with irreplaceable stories and understanding. Salvo isn’t quite convinced. Fin pipes up, asking why the warforged of Gran Marcellia grow their gardens. Salvo answers that they have an appreciation for the old world, and relish the opportunity to enjoy things that were withheld from them when they were enslaved. Fin notes that there is a simple charm to witnessing the growth of life, and the hope of seeing it continue; that, really, is all they’re asking for. “A chance to live our short lives and move on. Just like your plants.” One Nat 20 persuasion from Fin later, Ester is moved by the Hands of Hope’s mission. Still wary, Salvo asks what’s to stop the Flotilla’s population from coming back through the portal and attacking his people a year, a century from now. Rory pipes up, noting that Gran Marcellia is not home to most of the Flotilla’s citizens. The Hands of Hope themselves originate from elsewhere on Ios, and though the city is a marvel to behold, the Flotilla does not want what Salvo has. “Fine,” Salvo finally says. He sets the terms: the Flotilla’s people will walk Gran Marcellia in groups of no larger than 100. They will be watched at all times. And when the Flotilla’s people walk through the portal, the supplies they leave behind are forfeit. At this time, Superior begins beeping, which Balthier understands: The Superior has been directed tot return to the homeworld. Balthier agrees to Salvo’s terms. Before being led out of the room, Snibbles asks about the masks that she and Ortusa wear. Ester reveals that they are letters from her native language. She is not, in fact, a human, but a member of an ancient race; among the first to walk the planet Vas. She is a Kalashtar from the planet Dal Quor, and her language (as well as the language inscribed in Snibbles’ orb) is Quori. The similarity to Arc De Quor is noted by Snibbles, and they set their intention to show her their orb as soon as possible. As a last note, Rory turns back to Salvo, explaining that she understands his caution, but they really need to know where Silas is. Relenting, Salvo tells the group that he did see someone matching Silas’s description in the outskirts of the city. His people intercepted another group fleeing an unknown force, Silas among them. They were traveling Eastward.

### Good Memories and Sad Smiles

The group finally exits the room, leaving Salvo and Superior behind. Ester leads them through the hall, and Val sidles up next to her. He asks her if she knows anything about Shiverpine Grove, and notices a shadow of grief flash across her face. She says that she has indeed heard of Shiverpine, and asks what he wishes to know. Val motions to his pinecone, explaining that it and he are all that’s left of it. Ester recalls Shiverpine fondly; it was beautiful and full of passionate, powerful warriors. It was ahead of its time in its respect for knowledge and power; no bureaucracy or government, only people cooperating towards a better world. “Family was everything,” she says. She mentions the infamous two brothers of the grove, and Val shares what he knows of their story: twins who fought a terrible war against each other, and who would have torn the world apart to bring the other back to their side. Ester elaborates; the two brothers fought at first together, and then against each other, after a divide between them grew too great. They embodied the best and worst of Ios. They were like two side of the same coin, which strained against each other constantly, but could not separate. Val gives Ester a sycamore seed, as well as a Goodberry for a good memory. She druidcrafts the sycamore seed, producing a sprout, and plants it in an indoor planter nearby.

The Hands of Hope continue down the hallway, through a doorway that was previously closed. Within stands a large stone archway, bearing symbols that are very familiar to Snibbles, as well as a pedestal with a groove in it: apparently the perfect size for Snibbles' orb. The group talks a bit about what to do next. Ester, Snibbles, and Val settle in to study the Quori alphabet. Balthier and Fin head to the surface to fetch Snibble’s orb and report what’s happened to Guiscard. Rory talks with Snibbles and Val about the importance of sticking together and helping Fin find some closure regarding his friend Silas; it'll likely take all of them to piece together what happened and find the Genasi. Then, she heads off in the direction of Ortusa to hopefully clear up some misunderstandings.

Fin and Balthier find Guiscard almost immediately; a diplomatic party is nearly assembled and are just beginning to take off into the water. It appears the recent attacks have slowed down the Flotilla’s bureaucracy significantly. Balthier reports to Guiscard, who is stunned and a little frustrated that Balthier went down to negotiate without the blessing of Flotilla’s real government. However, Guiscard trusts his son and just hopes that he did a good job getting on the Lord of Blades’ good side. Fin, meanwhile, fetches the orb, and the two head back down into Gran Marcellia, with Damask and representatives from the Flotilla’s major houses following close behind.

Rory, meanwhile, finds the door to Ortusa’s room and knocks. Ortusa greets her suspiciously and invites her in before fetching a burlap sack from a trunk. She tears it open, revealing its contents: a severed head, bearing Rory’s face.

That’s where we left off on Episode 12 of Dirty Twenty! Catch full episodes on Youtube, and watch live on twitch.tv/kanoadaddy every Friday at 9pmEST/6pmPST!