50 (B-SIDE): A Place You Can Always Return To

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## Summary

### ...But You Didn't Do Anything

Tasked by Bartak with repairing the damage done by the Cult, Hiran does what he's best at and leaves.

### Tira's Kindred Spirit

Cat receives messages back from several of the Meranhi Crownguard, including a voice message from Damhir about Lhoam. Shortly after, the party climbs down Bartak's giant golden ginkgo tree and seeks out survivors. They find Daphne, one of the two guards at the village's perimeter, and Norman, a crazy old man who hates birds, as well as a handful of young children, all unindoctrinated by the teachings of the Illumined. While the children initially fear Vallor and Luca, Bran uses the wooden hand he found in Dabo's shed to distract and delight them. Mujie suggests that Tai should help shepherd the group to Fortuna, where they will be safe.

### The Broken Bro-Code

They travel together until the party splits off for a pitstop in Stonetree Village to catch up with Bran's family and Tira's father, who traveled with Peeks on his way back to Samsara. Afraid that his mother will see his new tattoo, Bran dons Mujie's cloak. Roz immediately confronts Bran with her knowledge (sort of) of what they've been up to on their travels, but by some miracle doesn't notice the tattoo. She later reveals to Bran that Aster narc'd on him (it was an accident!) to Daliya in a letter she read to the entire village. Elsewhere, Mujie discusses cape phases with Bran's dad, Peat, who eventually learns Bran got a tattoo. Peat reveals his own sick tat (a tribute to his beloved wife, of course) to Mujie, and promises he'll talk to Roz about it.

### There's Something About These Sheep

Meanwhile, Tira reunites with Tallis, who is liking village life. He's taken up his old trade of woodworking again, and even whittled Tira a sheep, stating that they remind him of her. While in the barn retrieving the trinket, he meets Vallor, and offers him words of comfort. Vallor also becomes enamored with the sheep and decides to be a vegetarian.

The party stays for communal dinner. Cat interrogates Tallis about what Garris was like in their youth, and learns he had a wife. Bran puts on some kind of mesmerizing bug-and-battery light show to make up for forgetting a Meranhi souvenir for the village. Daliya introduces Vallor to wine, and he gets sleepy drunk. At the other end of the table, Mujie lets it slip that the cloak Bran is wearing is actually his, and Roz's finely tuned mom instincts clue her in to the fact that Bran is hiding something from her—but only until Mujie, caught in the crossfire, uses Modify Memory on her.

After dinner, Sheena shows off her fireworks, and offers the party some sparklers for the road. The gang stays in the barn with Tallis and the sheep before leaving for Fortuna in the morning. On their way out, Roz yells at Bran about the tattoo, and Peat shows him his own body art.

### A Good Dad Beats a Good God Any Day

The party makes it back to Mujie's old stomping grounds after an ambiguous amount of time on the road. There, he reunites with Dabo, his mission finally a success—Tai, the lost orphan, has beaten him home. With everything he's been through since he left the Wetlands, Mujie shares heartfelt words of gratitude with Dabo:, who is deeply touched that one of the plucky orphans he raised has himself become a fine father figure somewhere along the way. Dabo discusses the Wetlands Rebuilding Effort with Mujie.

### I Still Can't Believe I Made it Through This Part Alive

In the courtyard, Bran, Tira, Luca, and Mahi impress the children of Fortuna with various party tricks and tall tales. Pombo, who has seemingly turned over a new leaf and dedicated himself to the rebuild, arrives in the courtyard and promptly ignores everyone to flirt with Cat. They steal away to the fields overlooking one of the Twin Rivers, and discuss what Pombo knows of Ark, and how that has changed since the party opened Mitro's Arkspring. He assures Cat that all of his follies were for the good of the Wetlands—mistakenly or otherwise. The same is still true, except that he's now taken a more above-board approach to the rebuild after seeing the damage he did firsthand. As part of his efforts, he has begun diverting much of his former fortune to the Church, with plans to rebuild a Temple in the city. Unfortunately for Pombo, none of it is impressive enough for Cat to let him put an arm around his waist.

### That's Our Girl

After speaking with Dabo, Mujie checks in with Pino and finally gets a chance to talk to Palani after years apart and months of slumber. Palani, having recently regained consciousness after the party opened a third Arkspring in the desert, talks about her experience with 'Ark sickness,' and thanks Mujie for coming through for Pino. She tells Mujie how sorry she is for keeping Pino from him, and remarks about how much she reminds her of him. Mujie continues his day of emotional maturity, and Palani says she's proud of who he's grown up to be. Despite all their history, or maybe because of it, the two get on like old friends.

All the pieces reconvene in the main courtyard, where Mujie and Palani are proud to find that Pino has begun to build a friendship bracelet empire and is currently wringing everyone dry of coin. Cat and Pombo also make it back in time for Cat to teach Pino a little something about bartering, and for Pombo to ask Tai to help him with the last of the cultists in the Wetlands on the sly, despite Mujie's protests.

### Does it Say Which Prince?

Later, the newspaper for the week gets delivered, and Palani reads out a shocking headline: Lanikai Prince to Wed Meranhi Royal...?

## Quotes

#### *YOU KNOW MHIRAL HAS THE GROUPCHAT MUTED:*

> **JINNA:** "A great tree… And more Wrath? Where? Please, could you be more specific? I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re asking…"
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> **SAMHPA:** "I will send a survey team to look into this as soon as you provide a location."
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> **DAMHIR:** "Why did you send this to me twice?"
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*—Texts from the Crownguard*

> “By the way, if you’re planning on returning to Lhoam anytime soon, you should know things are a little strange here. The council seems apprehensive about the Springs reopening, and there’s been some sort of shakeup with the Academy of Sciences’ leadership and the city’s police force. You may want to keep a low profile here. I’ll keep you updated if I learn more. Got to go.”
>
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*—Voice message from Damhir*

#### *[ORC] [MOTHER] YOU DID WHAT?:*

> “Hey, you. What’s this I’m hearing about my son being some big time hero? Explain. *Now*.”
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>

*—Roz, to Bran*

#### *HE SURE DID:*

> “Did you do that?”
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*—Roz, about the beam of Arklight from Suraat's Spring*

> “You went all the way to the Meranhi fucking Empire? I didn't even think that place was real! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is that far from home? At *least* tell me you didn’t forget to bring souvenirs back for the village!”
> "IS THAT A FUCKING TATTOO???????"
>
>

*—Roz*

#### *ASTER'S SO GETTING IT LATER:*

> *"Dearest Mother and Father,*
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> *I miss you terribly! I’m so sorry I have not written in some time, but I have been kept quite busy on the hunt for my next subject. I finally adequately captured the K’nafay Crowned Crane, and now I make east to find the Kkora Desert’s painted eyebrow.*
> *I met with Bran and the group he travels with on the south coast. He helped me find the Malabar Golden Toucan, which it turns out is a wily Fey creature rather than an actual bird. Still, into the compendium it shall go. Bran is on a rather incredible journey of his own! He and his new friends have fought fearsome beasts, communed with the gods themselves, and even set out to open the wellsprings from which the very fabric of our universe spills forth.*
>
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>  *I am very happy for him, but also terribly unsettled. Surely sharing all these experiences with strangers is a powerful bonding mechanism indeed. I know he would never, but I fear that he may, perhaps, forget the village, and all of the people there who are important to him. Like, for example, his friends, of which I am one. Also, the whole thing sounds rather dangerous and I worry for his safety.*
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>  *Please don’t tell his mother I’ve said all this, as I’m sure she would not take it well. Not that Bran would or should ever lie to her! But perhaps he should tell her himself.*
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> *Anyhow…"*
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*—Excerpt from Aster's Letter to his Parents*

#### *(SLAPS SESSION) THIS BABY CAN FIT SO MANY DADS IN IT:*

> “Everyone here has been very kind to me. The village head’s husband, in particular, and his friend Moss. The people here speak highly of you."
>
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> “My hands are not what they used to be. I can still work with wood, but I am much slower now. Clumsier, too. Time in the sunlight is doing me good, though. I like it here."
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> “To see my beautiful daughter again, well and healthy and surrounded by loved ones. I need nothing else."
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*—Tallis, to Tira*

#### *ANTI-RIZZ RIZZ:*

> “Fortuna’s favorite son returns. How’s it goin’, hotshot?”
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*—Pombo, to Mujie*

> “Call me crazy, but were you a big black panther last time we met?”
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> “I don’t think I ever got your name, Pussycat. Or we can just do nicknames, keep things exciting.”
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> “I’ve hired some guys to dive under the Sabre ruins and recover the gold we lost, or at least, some of it. We’re redistributing my old nest egg, most of it going towards building a city center where the Spring opened up. Old man Dabo’s getting quite the cut, too. Feels good to build something the right way, for once...”
>
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> “No more ark trade, trust me. Nobody from Lhoam has come back up here sniffing around for it either, not since the Spring opened. You ever catch up with Lillet?”
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*—Pombo, to Cat*

> “I’ve got some work to do to flush out the last of those cultists in the Wetlands. It’s a big job. I could use some help...”
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>

*—Pombo, "to no one in particular"*

#### *SHE'S A COOL MOM (BUT ACTUALLY):*

> “It was terrifying. Like I was lost in the ether. Formless. Just a great, big, nothing. Whatever you did to help—thank you.”
>
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> “You really came through for Pino. I’m sorry I didn’t seek you out. To be completely honest, I didn’t know if she was yours or not, at least at first. But the more she grows, the more you I see she’s got in there. She started a charm bracelet racket with the orphanage kids, you know? Didn’t get that from me.”
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> “But… you deserved to know, so you could decide what to do. And I took that away from you because I thought it would hurt her less. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
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*—Palani, to Mujie*

#### *UH OH SISTERS:*

> *ROYAL ENGAGEMENT: Lanikai Prince to wed foreign royal. // Rumors emanating from the Lanikai Kingdom suggest the Crown Prince is engaged! Our sources say that His Royal Highness the Prince, who has not made a public appearance for several moons, is in talks to wed a member of the royal court of the Empire of Meranh, which has recently reopened its borders to trade with cities on the Mainland.*
>
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*—Article from the Samsara Herald*

> “Does it—Does it say which prince…?”
> “Haha… Uh oh…”
>
>

*—Mahi, hearing Palani read the newspaper article*