Episode 108 - The Amazing Race

## Synopsis

Mira Marchand, Integrity Idleberry, Desa Truebeard, Murundeen Pure-Bone, Veldon Deeplake and Corrina Lindeman all entered the Plane of Isathil, temporarily blinded by the bright saturated colours. The green and purple barked trees which normally carried leaves in pink, blue and green leaves were all turning orange. The 1st Eldest, the dragon-like Shin Pem flew around in the sky, doing figure 8s.

Murundeen carried all of his group's heavy equipment, huffing and puffing as he trudged along, while Corrina led the way with a map. Integrity brought up the subject of warlocks with Mira in the most suspicious way possible, but doesn't discover any possible candidates other than herself. Taking the map, Integrity located their intended destination, Moistest Marsh past the Moles. Desa informed Mira and Integrity that Amelia Fenwick went there with her group during the last trip, and that SWIM shouldn't be worried since that group was the only one that wasn't badly hurt on that expedition. Even though she professed little faith in their navigational skills, Desa sent Integrity and Mira off to find the Moistest Marsh, advising them to hide at the first sign of trouble.

Integrity sidled up next to Murundeen, challenging him to a race with the loser buying the winner dinner. Murundeen suggests that the winner instead get 20 gold pieces worth of snacks. Mira wondered if it might be Integrity trying to flirt and nudged Corrina and Veldon, in a manner described by Sarah as "check this shit out". Although she started out strong, Integrity wasn't able to keep up while carrying all of her team's packs, and Murundeen won handily, demanding the prize be half beef jerky, and half chips. Unbothered, Integrity asked the other students if *they* knew anything about warlocks, but was unable to learn anything else. Veldon suggested that if nothing else, all warlocks were surely evil and nefarious. Integrity kept prompting, and her increasingly specific "what ifs?" made the others more and more suspicious. Mira finally asked Integrity what was going on, but Integrity was able to convince her friend that she was referring to a children's book about Diane Dangerous's niece, Alyssa Adventure. Integrity flashed an awkward smile and looked guiltily away. Before parting, Desa gave Mira a Sending Stone, blaming Artis for not already having given SWIM one. She then set off with her students, shouting "Dragon Turtle hunting time! Let's go!"

While they continued on their own, Mira tried in vain to engage Integrity in conversation about Alyssa Adventure, Integrity shut her down, claiming not to remember very much about her childhood. Undeterred, Mira continued fangirling, relieving Integrity of the need to continue her lie. After a while the two came upon a supply caravan of armored bees, all killed, seemingly by ice magic like they saw Ferimel use in Patter.

Meanwhile, Serinepth Sinderman, Winsler Wallaby and Aira Allaro stepped through the seed door and into Pitter's clearing. Winsler used Produce Flame to cook tea using a conjured tea pot and tea bags he made for Divination class. Noting that Aira looked like "a stray animal" (quote Luke), Seirnepth interlocked her fingers with Aira's to comfort her. Serinepth pulled out a deck of cards to pass the time, and it was revealed that Winsler had never played a card game in his life, while Aira, who has never had any friends, only played once, losing badly. Winsler quickly caught onto the rules, however, and the final score was Aira 1, Serinepth 2, and Winsler an unknown amount of points, possibly a dozen or more. After passing some time playing cards, Mira and Integrity arrived to find their friends. While SWIM caught up, Aira had a magical conversation with Desa, after which she apologized to SWIM. Integrity used her Awaken Mind ability to tell Aira "I'm here for you." Aira flashed double peace signs, said "bye" and walked off.

Looking at the crescent shaped aquamarine lake, Seltie's house and the tree which houses the 2nd Elder and the speaker to the 1st elder, SWIM debated where to go next, concluding the episode.