Surprise at the Banquet

## The Battle Begins

Having the advantage of surprise, Andrew goes first and attempts to charm Levina, his left arm twitching as he does so. She resists his magic and raises her eyebrows, asking him, “Really?”

Cordala casts Suggestion, but Andrew ignores her. Levina casts Bane, aqua-colored lightning glowing in the scars on her arm and neck and shooting from her fingers. Andrew stumbles backward as though he’d been kicked in the stomach.

Following her lead, Yvanna lunges for him, cutting him with her sword. Zale also attacks, skewering Andrew’s arm with his rapier. Aurelius aims with his arcane focus, a wooden toy gun, and casts Hold Person. Two glowing gold orbs with a gold rope connecting them fly from the gun, wrapping Andrew and immobilizing him.

He struggles, managing to break the spell. An involuntary twitch in his left shoulder catches Levina’s eye again. Cordala tries to cast Suggestion, but it fails.

Semi-certain that something else is happening, Levina casts Thaumaturgy. A clap of thunder booms in the small chamber.

“STOP!” she yells. Everyone freezes, looking to her for answers. Yvanna raises her eyebrows in askance at Levina, who replies, “Hold him still.”

Yvanna leaps onto Andrew and grabs him around his legs. Zale glares at Levina, his morals demanding Andrew be punished for his treachery. She asks him to let them figure out if something else is going on. He rolls his eyes and goes to lean against the wall.

Aurelius sidles up next to Levina and suggests she try the Protection pendant. Andrew attempts to claw Yvanna, getting her on the neck. Blood flows from the wound, but she holds on.

Stepping forward and looking into his eyes, Levina asks Andrew if she can try putting the pendant on him. His gaze is raw with agony, and he chokes out, “Please.” Gently, she loops the cord around his neck.

Almost immediately, he crumples to his knees, Levina and Yvanna holding him so he won’t fall too hard. His body begins to turn transparent, and he presses something into Levina’s hand, whispering, “I’m sorry,” before fading away entirely.

Yvanna and Levina hug each other, tears streaming freely down Levina’s face. She opens her hand and finds a key with a diamond set into its handle, the one they need to finally escape. Silently, still crying, she holds out her hand to show the rest of the party the key.

When Levina and Yvanna have recovered, the party files up the stairs and to the large front door. Levina fits the key into the lock and the door swings open. As they step into the crisp autumn air, the crimson light of a beautiful sunset falls over them.

Prudence jumps up from her chair, delighted to see them. She explains that the party is the only group to make it through the entire haunted house, congratulating them on their accomplishment. The party, tired, sweaty, and aching, accepts the medallions she hands out with exhausted relief, but the moment is bittersweet.

## Some Shopping, and a Strange Appearance

As the party walks towards the market, a bell rings, announcing the start of the closing ceremony. Graham Featherkin strides back onto the stage to give his speech. His voice echoes across the fairgrounds as he explains that the merchant market and Glutton Alley will be open for a few more hours and that any winners from the haunted house should come to the stage and present their medallions to the staff member in front of it.

After showing their medallions to the (frankly, quite rude) Tabaxi staff member, the party debates on where to go first. Levina excuses herself to have a moment alone and heads toward the beach. The rest of the party opts to pay a visit to Mari of Mari Kay, who is a weaponsmith. His partner, Kay, is a leatherworker.

Yvanna buys a warhammer called Black-Out from Mari, and Zale a pair of leather gauntlets with hidden blades inside. Aurelius purchases an opalescent sickle.

Meanwhile, Levina is redressing in an isolated cove after a brief swim in the sea. As she smoothes her skirt down, the wind begins to howl, whipping her hair and clothes back and forth. Lightning crackles overhead, followed by the crash of thunder. The waves throw themselves onto the sand. With another flash of lightning, a semi-transparent figure in stormy gray robes appears at her side.

“Hello, Levina Noreaster,” they say in a voice like the crashing of waves and thunder.

“Hello, Ariel,” she replies, wringing her hair out. “Still no clues on where to find the forgotten temple?”

“No. You know my memories of the primordial era are…cloudy, at best,” they say.

“No pun intended?” she asks, grinning.

“No,” they reply with a dry smile.

The next moment lapses in silence, broken only by the rushing of waves and the occasional peal of thunder. Ariel looks out to sea, and their demeanor seems to darken before they return their gaze to Levina’s. “So, tell me about this…fiend.”

Levina sighs. “I knew you were spying.”

“Spying is…a very mortal term for it. If I happen to check in on the person who holds my existence in the palm of her hand, can you blame me? Especially if that person happens to be engaging in…frivolous behavior.”

“This was not frivolous,” Levina spits. “The Peregrine was at sea for six months before landing for rations. You can hardly expect me to commandeer a boat and set sail immediately!”

“No, of course not,” Ariel replies, backing off. “But I was under the impression…”

“Under what impression, Ariel?”

The god does not reply. Instead, they return their gaze to the sea. Another moment passes before they speak again, in a calmer tone.

“Well, I will leave you to your…shopping trip, then. But remember, Levina Noreaster, time is of the essence.”

Lightning flashes once more, and the god is gone. The storm ceases, and the sky blazes with the colors of the sunset.

❖ ❖ ❖

Levina returns to the group as they’re getting ready to leave Mari’s booth. They spend some time wandering the booths before Zale spots one he recognizes. Flora the bugbear is engaged in conversation with another vendor, a dryad. As they draw closer, it appears that the dryad’s stall sells jewelry.

Flora introduces them as Fauna, her partner. With some (not so) gentle prodding, the shy Fauna agrees to sell them some of their wares themself.  They purchase the following, respectively:

Cordala buys a matching set of jewelry: one, an armband with strawberry quartz inlay, and two, a complimenting pendant. The two pieces can track each other. They also buy a gold and malachite necklace that emits a calming aura.

Zale purchases a pocket watch with heat-treated marbles around the circumference. The pocket watch magically displays the alignment of the planets.

Aurelius buys a gold ear cuff that resembles a tiny dragon. It allows him to understand all spoken languages.

Levina gets a set of matching silver rings, one with a tiny ruby set into it and the other with a matching sapphire. The rings can track each other, and also give the wearer the ability to sacrifice themselves in place of whoever is wearing its twin.

## The Banquet

Having spent all of their vouchers (their medallions disappeared once they’d done so), the party returns to the staff member, who opens a door set into the stage and leads them through it.

The hallway they enter is very similar in design to the interior of the haunted house. The same dark reds, golds, and mahogany wood are present. Each member of the party feels a shiver down their spine as they recall their earlier experiences. The staff member shows them to a set of french doors, behind which they can hear the chatter of conversation.

The doors open to an extravagantly laid dining room. Along the far side of a long dining table sit four people, one of whom is Graham Featherkin. The attendant shuts the french doors behind them.

Everyone notices that behind Featherkin and two of his guests stand attendants dressed in coordinating colors. Cordala was shocked to see that the one dressed in purple, who stands behind Featherkin, is someone she recognizes: Andrew. They nudge Levina and point him out discreetly.

Featherkin welcomes them to the dinner, expressing gratitude that he and his friends won’t be dining alone. His cheer seems false and sickly sweet, which immediately puts off most of the party. Aurelius is just happy to be eating food he’s used to.

Featherkin introduces the party to the people at the table, who are (in order from our left to right): Gellan Primwater, Graham Featherkin, Eda Owland, and Skerrin Wavecrasher. Skerrin is the only one without an attendant present and is sitting beside an empty chair. He explains that he is a hired advisor for the young absentee, who had a scheduling conflict and may join them later in the evening.

Yvanna sits down intimidatingly across from Featherkin, leaning her warhammer against her chair the same way his cane rests against his. Levina sits down next to her, opposite Primwater. Aurelius, who knows Eda Owland for her famous (in his circles, at least) fishing monopoly in Saltmarsh, is starstruck and snatches the chair opposite her. Cordala sits next to him.

Zale does not take his seat immediately, arching an eyebrow and asking if Featherkin intends to introduce the attendants. Featherkin seems taken aback at this, but calls Andrew forward and introduces him as his attendant, Esperanza. The party is astonished, both at Andrew/Esperanza being alive and at him having a different name. Levina especially has had a stricken expression on her face since Cordala pointed him out to her.

Owland and Primwater introduce their respective attendants, and with that, the dinner begins. Gellan Primwater waxes poetic about a Feywild honey mead he’d acquired for the dinner as it’s poured by the attendants. After a toast (“To being alive,” as Yvanna puts it), Levina recovers herself and asks Featherkin if his attendant could show her to the restroom. Featherkin beckons him forward and Andrew/Esperanza helps her out of her chair.

Zale, wanting to distract Featherkin in case Levina and Andrew/Esperanza are gone awhile, begins asking questions about the inner workings of the haunted house (namely, where the contestants who didn’t make it through ended up). As the lord begins to explain, Levina and Andrew/Esperanza leave the dining room.

❖ ❖ ❖

When they reach the powder room, Levina opens the door and pulls Andrew/Esperanza in by the arm. Closing and locking the door, she asks him if he remembers what happened. He confirms that he does. She asks if he meant any of what had happened, and he says he meant the good parts. When she asks which name he prefers, he explains that Andrew is an alias for when he’s in public. Esperanza is his given name, but everyone calls him Ezzie. Knowing they don’t have much time, Levina takes his hand and presses one of the rings she’d bought into it. With a sad look on his face, Ezzie explains his situation.

He’s called a huncubus, a type of incubus created by the infernal god Kaisarion specifically to serve as slaves. On his left hand, he wears a ring that connects him to the estate. If he gets too far away from the house or is injured, he will return to the estate. Ezzie had tried burning it off, cutting it or his finger off, and simply removing it. He’d even asked Flora and Fauna to help him. Nothing worked. Ezzie tells Levina he can’t put the ring on, because it might interfere with his contract ring and put both of them in danger.

With tears in her eyes, Levina kisses Ezzie, hoping it conveys all the things she didn’t know how to say. Hoping it makes up for the times she’d wanted to kiss him in the haunted house and hadn’t.

Levina asks him if he could send letters somehow. Ezzie explains that he doesn’t know how to write or read much more than dictating Featherkin’s letters to him. Even if he could read, he won’t put Flora and Fauna in danger like that. Levina cups Ezzie’s face in her hands and promises she’ll teach him to read as soon as they get him out.

Their time is up. Levina gives the ring back to Ezzie and closes his fingers over it. She makes him promise he’ll keep it, even if he can’t put it on. He slips it into his sock.

❖ ❖ ❖

When Ezzie and Levina return to the dining room, chaos meets them. Yvanna has empty glasses stacked around her plate and is standing up brandishing her warhammer while spinning a tall tale about a tavern called the Swan’s Eye. Her chair is nowhere to be found. As she tries to sit down, Zale stands and slides his chair perfectly underneath her, but the momentum and the weight of the warhammer sends her sprawling backward.

Ezzie leads Levina to her seat, both trying to ignore the mayhem. Featherkin, enamored with the story and more than a little inebriated, claps his hands and the next course begins.

During the dinner, the party’s possessions are returned to them. Levina notices that the tie on her coin pouch is different than she remembered, and makes a mental note to look inside once she’s alone.

Levina, whose entire world has been slipping into disorder since the day began, also starts to drink heavily. By the time dinner is finished, both she and Yvanna are completely drunk. Featherkin invites them to stay the night if they wish, and assures them an attendant will take care of them if they choose to do so.

Cordala and Zale both opt to go back to the docks, Zale to his ship, and Cordala to a cozy spot on the seafloor. When they reach the docks, Zale turns around to find that she’s already gone with only the sound of a splash.

Aurelius and Ezzie help Levina and Yvanna to rooms in the estate. Aurelius decides to stay with Yvanna and make sure she has everything she needs. Ezzie helps Levina to bed and stays with her for a while, holding her hand until she falls asleep. He checks in on her periodically throughout the night.

As the party lays sleeping, the midnight sky stretches above them. The stars and moon look down on them and whisper about the adventures to come.