Soren Returns

The group spends a few days of downtime in Rai'Sharr. Deirdre goes to visit the temple of Ioun, but finds that it is currently closed, as over 30 clerics were killed during a devil attack. She instead finds a magic university, and does some research on the Astral Sea, and on resurrection rituals. Leona spends a lot of time hovering around Aureo, and trying to recover her voice.

After several days, Aureo finally comes to consciousness. Iris gets a few moments alone with him, and then says her goodbyes. Leona and Deirdre head out to do some shopping. Kesra and Aureo chat while they're gone, about when Aureo will recover, and about Kesra's conversations with her horse.

On the seventh day, Soren walks into the tavern, with Kyuu. They greet everyone, and Kyuu sneaks under the table to pull the glove off off her hand. Aureo, in disguise, introduces himself to Soren as "Rey". They all spend some time catching up. Deirdre tells Soren about her plan to try to bring Eachthighearn back. As she begins to speak of it, Kyuu gets up and leaves. Deirdre goes and finds Kyuu to tell her the same thing. Kyuu tells her about the chaos in the Feywild that's resulting from Eachthighearn's death. She goes for a walk to clear her head.

Meanwhile, Leona and Kesra try to get Soren to tell them why he's there. He eventually admits that he came there to find them. Kyuu comes back in and tells the others that Deirdre is gone, and they convince her to go back and follow her. Soren asks "Ray" how he met the others, and Aureo tells them the story. In the process, Aureo realizes just who Soren is, and Soren reveals that he's known for a while that Leona and Kesra were his sisters.

Aureo tells the others that he needs to go back up, and they walk him up to their room. There, he drops his disguise and tells Zanelor more of his his story. Kesra acts really weird around Soren, not wanting to talk about him being her brother. She does tell him about the well and what they learned there, though. Aureo asks him when Leona's birthday is, and he says it's the 22nd of Elyses, during midsummer.

Kesra and Soren head back downstairs for some more drinks. She tells him that she doesn't know what to do with him. She says that, when she was younger, she wanted a brother to help her learn to beat people up. He offers to show her a coin trick instead.

Deirdre, meanwhile, has been reading up at the library about the Astral Sea and resurrection rituals. After they close for the night, she heads to a temple of Sarenrae, where she prays for a while, and then returns to the tavern, with Kyuu behind her, to find Kesra completely failing at the coin trick. As they talk, Deirdre tells Soren about Kesra's experiences with Pelor.

After a while, Aureo wakes up. He tells her that he thinks they should leave the next day. Deirdre returns to the room, and Leona sees that she's upset. She asks her about it, and Deirdre admits what Kyuu said. Leona hugs her and tells her that she's taking the right steps to move on. The others come up, and Soren and Kyuu get a second room.

Before bed, Aureo admits to Soren that he is quite in love with Leona. He tells Soren that he doesn't know what his future holds, but that he knows he wants her by his side for whatever it is. He asks Soren why Zanelor took Leona and Kesra away, and Soren tells him it was because of their mother. Aureo tells him that he believes Leona is one of the most powerful Oracles he's ever seen, and asks Soren to stick around for a while, to advise her.

Leona asks Deirdre if she would be ok with Soren and Kyuu accompanying them to find her mother. Deirdre says that it's fine, and she understands why Kyuu is upset. She tells her about Larocene, and how close they used to be, and how she hates her now. And she says that she blames herself just as much as the others do. She tells Leona she's considering sacrificing herself for the ritual to bring Eachthighearn back.

Aureo and Soren discuss Zanelor, and asks Soren's advice. Soren tells him that his best advice is to be true to himself. Leona goes ahead and catches Soren before bed, and invites him to join them on their trip, and he agrees to do so. Soren and Kyuu have a conversation before bed. She tells him about her conversation with Deirdre, and about how much she misses Eachthighearn.

In the morning, they make plans to head toward Quan'Mal. They debate taking an airship to get there, but Kyuu tells them that she can get them there via magic. They eat breakfast and head out of Rai'Sharr.