Aerois - Episode 38: The Elenasto Enquiry

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Pyri Adhara

**The Elenasto Enquiry** is the 38th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 30th June 2019 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*Lucius learns what's happened to Daddy, and the gang rally to reunite with their lost companion...*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players (accidentally introducing Tom Hazell as “Tommy B” (or Tom Bates).
* The sponsor this week is D&D Beyond. The crew is involved in the sponsor read this week with Mark playing the DM, Trott playing Nova, and Tom playing Sentry.
* Merch: there are brand new shirts! There is a Sentry design as well as a Paladin shirt.
* Immediately after this stream is the Lightfall Descent stream.

### **Recap**

"*The group, having returned their Guardian paladin to life, Sentry, being resurrected within the Midwife's Forge, discuss several matters including the fate of Qillek Ad Khollar, revealing the information to Sentry who had not known of his death, as well as Nova's recent communication with Kalus Starbane, tyrant and slayer of the goddess, Siaska. The Midwife's Forge was used to repair Pyri's watch, and forge Aila a new hammer. With Pyri's new watch repaired, it was revealed he had the ability to teleport the group to the sky city of Gusthaven. We bid farewell to Skaldi, Oriya, and Skorb, nearly saying goodbye to Quill's body if not for a kindly Dungeon Master, but we also say hello to Smeek, a new goblin who has become attached to the party, and Aila in particular. Arriving in Gusthaven, Pyri led you through a Cypher Academy safehouse, only to find it had been robbed and occupied by some very uncouth folk. A battle ensued that resulted in the party meeting with the Gusthaven city watch. After investigations and a brief lesson about immigration control, the party removed the flower crown from Lucius and had him reveal his presence to the guard. Shortly thereafter, a mage appeared to confirm Lucius's identity and to reveal some particularly tragic news, taking him to his home. The Elenasto estate is gone, destroyed down to its foundations and timbers.*"

### **Part 1**

*Now in the Sky City of Gusthaven the team have to come to terms with Lucius' discovery!*

The sky city of Gusthaven in beautiful and everything in it is made very precisely and with great purpose. Buildings are gracious and colourful flags and pennants snap gently in the soft breeze. The sight before them, however, is an assault to the senses: a large swathe of land with what was once a lovely manor home but is now a collection of blackened, charred timber and stone, rubble and debris. There are several mansions nearby that have been lightly damaged but are now under repair – the damage seems to have been largely concentrated on the building before them. Lying half buried in the ground, encrusted in black soot is a brass plaque reading, “ELENASTO”. The ashes are cold - whatever happened here happened some time ago.

Lucius, who had been so enthusiastic about showing his friends his home now looks pale as if he is going to faint and seems to be in denial. The mage tells them that there was a terrible accident weeks ago, a few days after they had heard the news about the air ship crash. When Lucius asks if his father still lives, the Stave goes deathly quiet before telling him that Virion, Elluin, and Edea were inside the mansion when the explosion erupted, and it is believed that they have all perished along with house staff and some visitors. Lucius turns deathly pale, slumps to his knees and then faints. The mage tells them that they will need to accompany him to the royal palace to discuss matters and to get their mark or right to enter the city. Aila gently picks Lucius up and starts carrying him away from his destroyed home.

As they make their way back through the city, they notice that while the richer areas have beautiful homes, so do the working classes, despite the difference in social status. Every building appears to have a rooftop garden where vegetables and other plants are grown, and there are brightly coloured pennants everywhere, most of which bear the royal crest (the outline of a sky city with a star in the middle of it). They make their way towards the centre of the city, which is elevated, and they make their way through several gated barriers that spiral around to a large palatial citadel. It is from the top of the tallest spire of the royal palace that they see the origin of a network of metal orbs and rods that cascades over the rest of the city, spreading out like a large umbrella or spider’s web above the city, and it is this that is responsible for the aura of good weather that most of the city currently enjoys. Where required, there are rain clouds, and they see several areas of the city where rain has been ordered.

As they pass through each of the gates, they notice only one or two of the watch on duty, contrasting with the much higher number that they had seen in places in the Lowlands. They are eventually led up to a grand palace – the walls appear iridescent, seeming to shimmer and glow in the light as if made of an unusual stone - and they are led by the mage through some large double doors guarded by High Elf royal guards in full plate armour and wearing a dark blue tabard bearing the royal crest. They are taken into a grand room that looks like a court room – it is a long chamber with plush, cushioned seating, filled with many citizens. At the far end of the room is a circular table, a grand throne, and several chairs around it – there is currently a meeting taking place as an open forum. At the far end is a handsome High Elf, young (about Lucius’ age) with long dark hair and wearing a beautiful silver crown with a large diamond at its centre. He is also wearing armour with regal robes. Behind him, resting against the throne is a large greatsword which is made from a silvery metal – its pommel is shaped like a star clutching a diamond. The man is communicating with citizens, mages, and guards. Lucius has woken up as they have been walking, but is still cradled in Aila’s arms, whimpering. The Stave tells them that he will inform Sky Prince Aridan of their presence and Lucius’ identity and asks Sentry to place Quill’s body in a side chamber.

They listen in as Aridan takes reports of a Dragon nearby their flight path, and recent attacks on three businesses by someone called Moonstar before the Stave steps up and whispers his information into Aridan’s ear. Aridan is shocked to learn that Lucius is alive and calls for Anastasia or Belanor to be called before suspending the rest of the day’s forum and having the general citizenry removed from the chamber. Once it is only them remaining, Aridan comes directly to Lucius checking to see that it is actually him.

Aridan tells Lucius that when Virion found out about the air ship crash, he threw himself into his work, saying that he had a new project, something about ‘refining’ that Edea was working on with him, and he just withdrew from the world. Then the accident happened, and they tried to find Lucius to see if he had survived but some of the Staves said that he was dead and that they had seen his body. Lucius stares at him vacantly and his responses are delayed, so Aridan asks if he wishes to lie down while he talks to Lucius’ companions. Aridan summons guards to take Lucius to a guest chamber saying that they will need to discuss his father’s business and succession later.

Aridan is regaled with the party’s tales of air ship crash survival, attacks by the Remnant, Sentry’s survival, their arrival in Gusthaven through teleportation, and the capture of a member of the Wind Barons. The Wind Barons are generally bandits involved in capturing air ships and stealing cargo, they are not usually involved in crime in cities. Because they believed that Lucius had died, his father’s company and assets have been sold to other businesses – much of it may not be able to be recovered, but Aridan aims to get the recipients to pay compensation to Lucius. He will still retain his title and land (as long as it is occupied, otherwise it will be reclaimed by the Crown), and his father did leave Lucius something in his personal account which Aridan asks them to give to him when he wakes.

Nova asks which Stave said that they saw Lucius’ body and the mage tells her that they were in the employ of Magrona Manufacturing, but that there will be an investigation into the matter – after the explosion at the manor, Anastasia Magrona had offered her private Stave to perform the scrying. He has summoned the head of the family, Anastasia, but since she is unavailable, her son, Belanor will come and speak on her behalf. He asks them to keep information to themselves and to try to keep news of Lucius’ survival quiet for now since it is possible that someone may not be happy to hear that he has returned. They discover that there is a bounty on Moonstar’s head for their arrest, that it is believed to be a woman (although this is not confirmed because they are always masked), and she is accused of attacking businesses, both legitimate and criminal. The Sky Prince has not believed until now that the explosion at the Elenasto manor was anything but an accident due to a new refining process that Virion was working on in his workshop, but now that there has been an attempt to hide Lucius’ survival, both matters will be investigated from that angle.

As they are having this conversation, the doors of a side room burst open, and a tall, muscular, athletic male High Elf wearing partial armour steps through. He insists on seeing Lucius, not believing that he is alive. He sees Aridan and bows before Aridan tells him to speak to Ellois (the Stave). Aridan assures Belanor that it is Lucius and advises that he will have to answer some questions about the incorrect information that was provided by his mother’s Stave. Bellanor confronts the party and suggests that the “lowlanders” are up to something – Aila responds by questioning Belanor about who he is to Lucius. Belanor is affronted, having known Lucius since they were boys and having grown, played, and trained together as sky jousters. When Aila asks why he appears annoyed that Lucius is still alive, Belanor grows angry, calling Aila a “filthy lowland Elf”. Belanor, a well-muscled man, is bristling, and squaring off against Aila, who is letting the lightning crackle in her palms while Sentry moves to stand next to Aila while Smeek stands by Aila’s leg and cries out his disdain for Belanor. Pyri calls on the Sky Prince to intervene, but Aridan has already moved calmly to his throne and picked up his greatsword. Belanor insists that he is relieved to find that Lucius is alive and has a minor fracas with Nova until Aridan arrives and thrusts the tip of his sword onto the ground – as he does so, a bright light shoots out from the tip. Airdan calls a halt to the hostilities and insists that Belanor show the party respect as guests of the Crown.

Belanor is happy to answer Ellois’ questions, although Ellois had hoped to meet with Anastasia. Belanor says that she is away on business (which Aila does not trust(see Trivia)). The Prince looks at Smeek curiously and tells them that he does not have room for them all at the palace but he will organise for a mage to give them a royal mark of entry and speak to them again soon. Nova asks to stay with Lucius to protect him and for emotional support, but this request is denied, and she is invited to return tomorrow. She also tells Aridan that they plan to have Quill resurrected, and while he is saddened at the loss of their companion, he says that when the people of Gusthaven die, they are cremated, and their ashes are thrown to the winds. Given that their beliefs are not the same as his, however, he recommends that they speak to the Grand Light Seer at the Temple of Siaska, the Starsorrow Cathedral. He warns them, however, that such feats of magic are rare and that it will likely take considerable resources.

Aridan says that Lucius will be paid compensation for the family business and assets that have been acquired by others in Gusthaven – he will not be able to reclaim the business assets which are now legally owned by others, but he can ensure that they pay Lucius their worth in gold, and this is likely to be 20-30,000 gold.

Aridan assures them that despite their experience thus far, Gusthaven is a safe place, and hopes that they will enjoy their stay. He will have their weapons bonded, since it is an offence to carry open weapons in the city – this means that they can carry their weapons, but it will be obvious if their weapons are drawn, and they will have to provide a defence if they do so. Aridan dismisses them and leaves – a Royal Stave comes over to them and draws a unique arcane symbol into each of their palms – once cast, it fades. When it comes to their weapons, they are allowed to carry a cane or a knife/dagger unbonded but everything else is bonded – a ribbon with a silver wax seal is placed around the weapon so that if it is pulled free, the seal will break, and it will be obvious: this is called a peace bonding. Nova realises that there is a minor enchantment on the seals that will prevent them trying to stick them back together if they are broken.

They are escorted out of the palace and out of the city proper with Sentry carrying Quill’s body. Lucius wakes up to see a sealed scroll case that has come from his father’s desk and has been left on the bedside table for him – he does not read it immediately because he is still in a mental fog. He stares at the scroll case for a long time before starting to get angry and going into a state of denial: he feels that something is wrong, that Virion would not be that careless, that they are all alive somewhere and that something has happened. He opens the scroll case and begins to read.

The rest of them head back to the noble district and into the Starsorrow Cathedral which is on the far edge of Gusthaven. They notice a bridge that goes from the edge of the sky city to another island that floats alongside it – this smaller island contains a lake that has been pulled up out of the ground and magically sustained as a sky lake. Before this bridge, however, is one of the most beautiful buildings they have ever seen – its roof is made from pure crystal and is shaped into the point of a star. The building is constructed with the same iridescent stone as the palace with beautiful stained-glass windows depicting Siaska, there are ornate marble fountains that bubble with crystal clear, sparkling water and they walk through the lush outer gardens that are full of plants in beds of gravel and stone and beautiful sculptures and statues.

As they get closer to the building, they realise that there is currently a service being performed as they hear the angelic voices of the Elven choir floating on the air from the main doors. They see many citizens from across the spectrum of classes in Gusthaven participating and singing along softly as they enter the Cathedral and, looking up, they expect to see the crystal roof but instead see a planetarium-like representation of the cosmos with the various stars throwing light onto the people below. In the illusion above them, Aerois appears at the centre of the cosmos with Palador depicted as a blazing figure circling it and providing both light and warmth, while the Star Mother, Siaska herself, holds her hands over Aerois protectively. Siaska is depicted as having skin that is black, made from space and stars, with long, flowing, celestial hair of white, gold, and silver billowing out.

Leading the choir is an elderly Half-Elven woman who is wearing simple, plain white robes similar to Siaska’s and grey hair pulled up high with a delicate silver circlet around her head – they think that she may be 60 to 70 years of age but still appears to be vigorous. The ceremony ends and the people file out, politely staring at the group carrying a dead Aarakocra and a Goblin. Nova is staring at the roof, pointing out various constellations, and babbling about them to anyone who will listen. One of the attendants approaches the party, thinking they have come for funeral rites, but when they explain that they are looking for a resurrection, they are summoned to the elderly woman who begins to pray as they approach her, and is creating a *Zone of Truth.* She asks who they are and how Quill died. Further, she asks the difficult question of why, out of all the people who have died, Quill deserves to be brought back – being a Champion of H’esper appears to be reason enough, although she tells them that the attempt will be difficult and that she cannot guarantee his resurrection – she can only cast this ritual twice a year, and she has already used one of her charges.

In order to perform this ritual, the priestess will need either a flawless diamond or a rod made of an alloy of etherium and platinum. She tells the party that noble souls are taken to the afterlife and others are taken to limbo – to call Quill’s soul back from Siaska’s embrace, she must channel his soul into his body, and the diamond or rod will act as the focus for this channel. The rod may be more readily available, but will likely be more expensive, while a flawless diamond may be cheaper but harder to find. While the priestess has the power to bring Quill back, she does not have the rod or diamond, nor does she have the wealth to acquire one. She recommends leaving Quill’s body in the Cathedral rather than carrying it around Gusthaven, which they agreed to do.

As they make their way out of the Cathedral, a voice comes out crisply and clearly… “SMEEK!”

### **Part 2**

*The team have the shopping list to return their fallen ally but Lucius has other plans!*

Lucius takes a couple of hours to contemplate matters, read his father’s letter, and he discovers a certificate/mark of credit for 30,000 gold that Aridan had mentioned. He pockets the letter and paces the room as he thinks quietly to himself and tries to piece things together(see Trivia). He eventually stops his pacing and utters a single word, “Nanny,” before calling the guard. After confirming that he is allowed to leave, he makes a beeline for the door and starts to depart the palace, telling the guard that he is going to look for his friends at the Starsorrow Cathedral. He makes his way to the cathedral and is standing, staring up at it as his friends leave, without Quill’s body.

Lucius informs them that he does not believe that any of his family members are dead, and the party believes that he may be in danger. They need to find somewhere safe to stay and somewhere safe to talk so Lucius takes them to the sky lake over the bridge nearby – it is not terribly stable and passes over thousands of feet of nothingness below it as the sky city and sky lake move on their usual path. Aila is not keen to pass over it, but Nova stands in the middle of it, jumping up and down to show them how safe it is for them. As they are travelling across the bridge, their feet are suddenly covered by a passing cloud, but this ends abruptly as the city moves on.

On the other side of the bridge is a large lake surrounded by patches of grass and verdant hills with the whole island being surrounded by a stone wall. They see, typical of a tourist spot, small vendor stands, people out on the lake on small sailboats, and there are trees, gardens and hedge mazes. There are also many fishermen who are catching fish for their livelihoods. Patrolling around the lake and grounds is a number of Dwarven Druids wearing strange amulets – they occasionally walk up to the lake, cast a spell and nod. One walks up to a fisherman as he is pulling up a fish, they have an exchange and the fisherman nods and leaves before the Druid casts a spell over the lake.

Lucius leads them at pace to a quiet spot – he seems unusually determined. He takes them to a small copse of trees near the wall that is blocked from view of any tourists. He tells the group that his family is not dead because they are too clever for that and that therefore there must be something else going on. Aila agrees that it may not have been an accident but says not to rule out the possibility that they are dead. Lucius wants to go and see his old nanny, Norfir, who is a survivor from the Lowlands, and whom he is sure will know what is going on. Pyri suggests that if Norfir was not at the Elenasto estate when it blew up, but was usually resident there, then she may know something that will help them. Lucius thinks they should let word out that he has survived and see if she will come to him, but Aila does not think this is a good idea given that people have tried to kill his entire family.

The party tells Lucius of their meeting with Belanor Magrona, and how he said that he grew up with and used to play with Lucius. Lucius corrects them and tells them that Belanor used to bully him as a child, and he now suspects Belanor of orchestrating the entire assassination plot. Aila thinks it more likely that the mother, Anastasia, is involved somehow. They discuss making Quill’s resurrection their first priority, and Lucius discovers that his family business and effects have been sold to other families. They head their way back to the palace in the afternoon to speak to the Sky Prince but are taken to speak to Ellois in his office – it is a plush room with thick carpets, large bookshelves along a curved wall, there are various busts of High Elven princes and princesses that have ruled Gusthaven. Sitting at his desk, reading a spellbook and making notes, is Ellois who bows his head to Lucius.

Lucius tells Ellois that he needs access to his family business and assets and is told about the dissolution and sale of the estate but is also told that each family that has purchased some of it has been told by the Sky Prince that Lucius is alive and that compensation must be paid by them. The list of companies that has purchased some of the Elenasto assets includes Magrona Manufacturing, Moonbright Wayfarer’s Travel, Aetheron Refineries, and Cloudgarden Cargo and Collection. Ellois tells Lucius that the compensation will be collected from these four businesses and the 30,000 gold will be deposited into his Gusthaven account at the Gusthaven bank.

Ellois tells Lucius that he has spoken directly to Belanor and through a *Sending* spell to Anastasia – they have given him the name of the Stave who performed the scrying, but they have gone missing, and they are currently trying to track them down. Pyri asks why the scrying was outsourced in the first place and is told that there had been a number of malfunctions in the weather control grid, and that the Royal Staves had been busy repairing that. Several families offered their personal Staves for this task, and since the Magronas had always been loyal servants of the Crown, the task was passed to them. Ellois says that there seems to be a growing criminal element amongst some of the businesses in Gusthaven, particularly from some of the businesses from the other sky cities like Horizon and Cloudgarden. Ellois is suspicious that these businesses may be paying off some of the noble houses, maybe even some of the Royal Staves and Royal Wands, too.

While the Elenastos and the Magronas did not get on terribly well personally, Ellois is aware that the two companies worked together without issue before the incident at the manor. He informs Lucius that Anastasia has been summoned to Gusthaven and will be returning by the next available air ship. When Nova asks the name of the Stave involved, Ellois politely declines to tell her saying that the investigation must be carried out by agents of the law, and not by mercenaries. When pressed, Ellois tells Lucius that there were several witnesses to the explosion at the manor, mainly the servants at the adjacent houses, but also Norfir, who was returning that night and saw the explosion from a distance. She has received compensation payments and been living in the city for the last few weeks. When questioned, Norfir claimed that she had been meeting a romantic interest for the evening (which delights Lucius), and she sustained several burns when trying to rake through the wreckage to see if anyone had survived. Ellois says that they found numerous bodies, and that all were in a state that they could not be magically identified, but Virion was found in his workshop and identified by certain pieces of jewellery and a mark upon his hand.

Nova mentions the letter that they sent via the Messenger Guild from Kalie’s Rest to the Elenasto Estate about three and a half weeks ago, but Ellois says that no one seems to have received it. Ellois makes some notes and says that he will investigate this further.

Once they leave Ellois, they discuss how to get an etherium/platinum rod – Lucius tells them that he has assets left to him by his father in his will that they can use now, and if not, they can put pressure on one of the businesses that bought the Elenasto businesses to give him one in lieu of the gold they would owe him. Since they do not want to go to the Magronas, they decide to approach Aertheron Refineries.

They head to the industrial district, called Glintsteel because of the heavy silvery chains that link the buildings in the district from which hang heavy silvery cages with a single rod at their cores. The buildings are all large with plumes of smoke erupting from the refineries and the population seems to be made up of many Halflings. They are scrabbling up the sides of buildings on tiny ladders, climbing across chains, chipping away at some sort of dusty build-up around the cores in the cages, and carrying goods around the district. The district is loud – there is the hum from the buildings themselves, the din of hammer on anvil from blacksmiths, and the hiss of steam from the forges. The whole area is hot and sweltering but there is a stronger breeze in the area which helps to alleviate some of the conditions. They are hailed by a Halfling in a flak cap and a vest whose arms are partially stained a deep purple blue, he brushes his hair with his hand and flakes of soot fall out. After a shouted conversation, they make him understand that they wish to see the manager of this Aertheron warehouse, and the Halfling kindly escorts them to his office.

They pass through one of the factories with clockwork run conveyor belts where metal plates are flattened, rolled up, and shaped. Most of the workers are Half Elves, Humans, or Halflings, but they do see the odd High Elf that seems to be some sort of manager or supervisor. They pass a mess area and walk through what appears to be magical sound protection (sound barriers) as the loud noises become more and more dull before he takes them to the office areas and leaves them with a secretary.

Lucius advises the secretary that they are speaking on behalf of the Elenasto estate and that they need to speak to the head of the Aetheron house. The secretary speaks to the manager, then advises that they can speak to him. The manager’s office is littered with prototype etherium cages, and he is sketching something on his desk that is hinged up like an architect’s. The manager is a middle-aged High Elf man with thick glasses, dark hair that is streaked with grey, wearing a fine vest that is trimmed with a floral pattern. He recognises Lucius immediately and Lucius recognises him as the younger brother of the Aetheron family, Matthias, he walks with a limp and uses a cane – he is known as the black sheep of the family, is very intelligent, and has created a lot of innovations in etherium design, but he is known not to be very good socially and is best left alone in his study. Matthias has not heard about the order for compensation, dealing mostly with the trade in etherium, etherium cages, and manufacturing components. He says that the compensation issue will likely be dealt with by his older brother. He is happy to draw up an agreement that Lucius can take the etherium rod now and it can be deducted from any compensation due later or must be paid for otherwise. Matthias agrees to have one of the engineers coat the rod with platinum that can be melted down from a statue that they have.

Matthias is enthralled with Smeek and speaks briefly with him in Goblin. He advises them that many of the early etherium technology were taken from Court of Shadows ideas for collecting energy because their engineers were brilliant. Veldersperk, the Gnome engineer who created the etherium refining process, took a lot of his learning from these Court of Shadows engineers. Matthias takes them to a Halfling who can make the rod for them, and they ask him to make an etherium/titanium alloy(see Trivia). He returns within the hour with a sealed container containing the rod.

They make their way back to Starsorrow Cathedral and Eris – she is surprised to see them back so soon, and particularly surprised to recognise Lucius with them. Eris seems genuinely relieved to see him alive given that they had held a service for him. Eris tells them that while some believe that Siaska is gone from the world, that she does not believe it and points to the Cradle, telling them that Siaska is always there, watching them. Attendants fetch Quill’s body and lay it on the altar.

Eris places the rod on Quill’s chest, says a few words, then lets go of it – the rod stands up straight in the air. The light from the Cradle begins to coalesce into a single beam of light that touches the tip of the rod. The rest of them watch on as Eris conducts the ritual…

*All Quill has known is peace, warmth, and safety. He knows that he was once alive and that there were things that he had to do and people with whom he travelled, but the memories are blurred and hard to recall. He still feels a connection to them – a happiness when he thinks of them – but all memories are blended together in a soft feeling of happiness and being at peace. He begins to feel a tugging in his chest which is strange to him since he no longer has a form, and he hears a matronly voice in his head asking, “Do you want to go back?”*

*Quill answers in the affirmative.*

*He watches as what was once a dull white soft glow of light parts and he is pulled through the opening where his astral body re-forms: he is once again Quill the Aarakocran, and his memories flood back to him. Although he has left the place beyond, the feeling of peace lingers with him, and he knows that as a noble soul, as long as his heart stays true, this is where he will return when he passes again. He sees the planet of Aerois, surrounded by the Cradle, s protective barrier of multi-coloured light, and he slowly begins to drift back towards it. A familiar figure approaches him – a woman in black armour, wearing a mantle of black flowers around her neck, carrying a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other – she looks down at Quill and says, “So they have succeeded.”*

*Quill apologises to Kellara who must make the journey a second time on his behalf. “It is my honour to take this journey again, Chosen of H’esper. Be prepared. Your god will see you before you arrive. Good luck.”*

*Quill asks if he will have this chance again and is told that he may be taken beyond the Cradle once more but will never be able to return to Aerois afterwards because a soul cannot be called back more than once, that the journey is too much for a soul to make a second time.*

*He passes through the Cradle and into the atmosphere of the planet and catches a glimpse of a glowing light – he does not see what he has heard in tales, a flaming individual, flying around the planet – he sees a grand ship with sails that are filled with blazing golden light. On its deck are metal automatons working the sails, and at the helm is a gruff-looking man with golden skin, flaming hair looking like a bight golden light. The man nods at Quill as the ship sails past on its patrol.*

*Soon after, another familiar figure approaches him – a winged Human man with a staff and tome. “Second try,” says Quill to H’esper. “Not many get one. I’m glad that you do. They’ve gone to quite some lengths to bring you back.” Quill is told that when he returns, he will be in Gusthaven and that the Valley of Storms still waits for him – H’esper tells him that he must return there because only he can stop the storms and that there is a powerful relic there that Quill will need in the times to come.*

*“Before you return, there is one thing,” says H’esper to him, reaching a finger out towards Quill’s damaged eye socket – Quill feels a warmth there. H’esper wishes him luck and reminds him to ask the right questions. He suddenly speeds up and hurtles towards the planet…*

Quill wakes with a gasp of air and a rush of warmth. The light dazzles him as he hears the murmur of people chanting nearby as he opens the eye that is not covered by the eyepatch. He sits up and greets them, a little bewildered, and they notice that behind the eyepatch is a glowing light from behind it. Quill lifts the eyepatch and removes it – there is a sudden blazing of light from his eye that then dims and recedes. Where he once had a ruined eye, there is now an eye with a shimmering, swirling storm in it which he can see out of perfectly. Quill knows that the eye does more than allow him to see: it is magical and will allow him to ask a question once per day that will allow him to see something that happened in the past, is happening in the present, or is likely to happen in the future(see Trivia).

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:02 – Stream begins
0:44 – Mark forgets Tom’s name
6:28 – Trott’s sponsorship message
8:00 - Recap
12:07 – Aerois intro video
14:51 – Happy Anniversary Aerois!
15:16 – Episode begins
16:05 - Synchronised tea drinking
19:10 – Terrible news
19:46 – Lewis Elenasto
26:01 – The Sky Prince
26:58 – Lucius’ grief
34:16 – Lucius and the Sky Prince
32:58 – Aila and his Majesty
36:54 – Mark made him poor
44:05 – Belanor
48:18 – Whispers
48:31 – Trott and Lucius are dead inside
48:40 – Mad world
49:06 – Smeek is a valid member of the party
51:28 – A ghostly “no thanks” from ol’ Qillek
51:47 – Burn the bird
52:33 – A tragic death
54:03 – Daddy’s been to the races
56:00 – A number of scrotes
59:04 – He’s illiterate
59:38 – The fog lifts
1:04:06 – Smeek is just a smol boi
1:05:53 – We want a birth
1:08:13 – Remember to tell the truth, Katie
1:10:25 – H’esper’s Champion
1:15:16 – Kentucky fried Quill
1:16:52 – Mark the troll
1:17:06 - Break starts
1:27:09 - Break ends
1:30:13 – Good to be home
1:32:28 – Aila’s not crossing that fucking bridge
1:38:26 – Lucius’ denial
1:41:42 – About Belanor
1:45:53 – Smeek’s Quill impression
1:59:09 – Go nanny!
2:12:29 – Lucius the lawyer
2:20:07 - Sentry likes to be involved
2:20:21- Quill is perma dead guys
2:22:23 - Not this week Tom
2:30:24 - Starbane burned the bird
2:34:10 - Oh Pyri should definitely meet Quill
2:35:15 - Quill’s journey
2:40:35 - Quill’s return
2:40:54 - Hesper’s gift
2:43:35 - Episode ends
2:44:18 - Donations
2:48:00 - Stream ends
2:48:22 - Fan art video

*feel free to add extra timestamps of significant events!*

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Nova V'ger
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Pyri Adhara
* Sentry

#### **New NPCs**

* Sky Prince Aridan Irisen-Pelony Starsorrow
* Belanor Magrona
* Eris the Grand Light Seer
* Matthias Aetheron

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Smeek
* Ellois
* Kellara
* H'esper
* Siaska

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Anastasia Magrona
* Nanny Norfir
* Moonstar

## **Featured Locations**

* Gusthaven
	+ Starsorrow Cathedral
	+ Indistrial district (Glintsteel)
	+ Royal Palace
	+ Ellois' chambers
	+ Sky Lake

## **Trivia**

* This episode marked the one-year anniversary of Aerois!
* **Continuity error:** Ellois is initially introduced as "Ellodis" by Sky Prince Aridan.
* Mark is given sponsor read information on a piece of paper that is labelled “MERKIN”, while Tom is given another piece of paper labelled “THØM is a poo head”
* Katie describes Smeek as “the son I never wanted”.
* General information about Gusthaven:
	+ Mark made a retcon to the uniforms that were worn by the watch from last episode: they are now black and white with half plate armour over the top. The mage with them has black and white robes and carries a long staff inlaid with a medallion engraved with the symbol of Gusthaven (the outline of a sky city – basically the Aerois logo).
	+ A Royal Stave is part administrator and part magistrate in Gusthaven. They are responsible for laws and general city governance, and they work as an elite advisor to the Sky Prince.
	+ The watchmen and women of Gusthaven are called “Badgers” because they show their badges when they attend a scene and wear black and white. There is a section of the city watch called Royal Wands who are magical investigators or detectives.
	+ Gusthaven’s royal crest is the outline of a sky city (Aerois logo) with a star in the centre of it.
	+ Gusthaven’s population is about 60-70% High Elves and Half-Elves with the rest being a mix of Humans, Halflings, Dwarves, Tieflings, Aasimar, and other races. Some of the latter are travellers. Very occasionally, one might spot a Guardian, but it is likely that they have come as crew aboard a sky ship.
	+ Aridan is referred to as either “Sky Prince” or “Your Majesty”.
	+ The Starsorrow Cathedral in Gusthaven is named after the royal line and was built by one of the past sky princes who was incredibly devout and devoted to Siaska.
	+ Gusthaven has magical walls to prevent people from walking off the side of it.
	+ When H’esper raised the sky cities after the Sundering, the sky lake was raised with Gusthaven. It also has a waterfall off the side of the island. There has never been a fatality due to the bridge to the sky lake, since there are enchantments to slow one’s descent if one somehow manages to fall off it, and this gives the guards time to send a Pegasus to catch the faller. The base of the lake is encased (although it is not revealed as to whether this is in stone or by magic).
* Lucius met Aridan when they were younger, maybe 10 or 11 years of age. The last time Lucius saw him was at his father’s funeral which was about 3-4 years ago.
* When Belanor tells Ellois that his mother is away on business, Aila makes an insight check – Mark removes his mic and whispers something to Katie.
* This episode saw the first Markism of the new campaign where the Royal Stave came and drew some arcane “scrotes” into the players’ palms. It was a blending of scrapes and strokes. Rhiannon lost it.
* Mark confirmed that Smeek is based on Donnie from the Wild Thornberrys.
* The constellations of Aerois are based on the children of Siaska, such as Atelicus and H’esper.
* A refined etherium/platinum rod to be used for Quill’s resurrection costs 8,000 gold. A flawless diamond may be found in the hands of a noble house in Gusthaven, or the party was told they might be able to find one in Goldthrone, which is known for its mining (there were facepalms and laughter all round when this was announced) – the diamond would probably cost 5,000 gold if they could find one.
* During the break, Mark tried to throw a box past Tom’s head and nailed him in the forehead, apparently leaving a mark.
* Lucius “trying to piece things together, CSI style” is like a large, colourful, children’s painting.
* Norfir was Lucius’ main protector and guardian when his family was busy with the business (which was frequently the case) and taught him everything he knows.
* Virion Elenasto was never known to work on anything dangerous, but Edea was happy to be more experimental. The prototype engine that Lucius was sent to get (that they still carry) was the first time that Virion was known to branch out, and this was probably due to encouragement from Edea.
* **Continuity error:** Aetheron is pronounced both as “Aetheron” and “Aethereon” throughout the second half of the episode.
* The etherium/platinum alloy rod is changed slightly during the episode with Mark later suggesting that the etherium rod must be surrounded by platinum. He agrees that they could melt down a platinum statue of Siaska (that they found in the Night Eye) worth 1000g to be the platinum component. This is questioned by Lucius who asks if it is meant to be an alloy or a coating, and after an arcana check, where it is discovered that etherium has an enhancing quality and platinum is exceptionally good at holding magic – they do actually need an alloy.
* Tom gets frustrated that they are wasting so much time because of Smeek, and that it is delaying Quill’s resurrection. He suggests throwing Smeek off the edge of Gusthaven before realising that he would just come back by Pegasus.
* **Magic item: Eye of the Storm**:
	+ The Eye can be used once per day to ask a single question (per episode 38; this was later adjusted to rolling for d3 charges to be restored per week in episode xxxx(*citation needed*), then again to d2+1 in episode xxxx(*citation needed*)). The question asked may be about:
		- something that happened in the **past** of **where you are**
		- something in the **now** of **where you are not**
		- something that has **not yet come to pass**
	+ Rules:
		- the question must be specific
		- if successful, a vision will be presented of 1 minute's duration
		- if asking a future question, Quill will see the most likely thing to happen
		- if the question cannot be answered, it will not expend a charge
		- as part of the action to use this ability, you may use a single specific question about your immediate surroundings, an object you are holding, or a person you can see. (ep 55 @2:26:35)
	+ Mark's note: The threads of fate and fortune can change significantly, but Quill will see the most likely thing

## Quote

* Trott (opening the scroll from his father): This is a long one, Mark!
* Mark: Almost like it’s a dead dad’s last words…
* The rest of the table: (suck in breath) eeee

* No one:
* Smeek: THE STORM GODDESS HAS CHOSEN ME!!!
* Aila: the son i never wanted...

* Mark as Ellois (re: Norfir): We investigated… she had been meeting with a… romantic friend for the evening.
* Lucius: She has a romance? Go nanny!