Death and Debts: Episode 02

### Reddit Thread

***Death and Debts* Episode 2** was streamed on Arcadum's Twitch channel on August 5, 2020, and premiered on Arcadum's YouTube channel on October 28, 2020.

## Summary

              The group returns to the Shadow Gate, where Khate Green and his assistant are waiting. Speaker Zazgore returns to congratulate them on passing the test, and promises them fortune and glory for their further assistance. He leaves as a new handler arrives to watch the group; the Hobgoblin Mr. Knuckles, now promoted to “adventurer trainer” due to his work with the TOPS. Zara fails to pick him up. Revlis fails to charm him. Umi burns her hand on her cigar. Terryn decides not to stab him. Mr. Knuckles tell the group they need to find a traitor, in the process teaching the group they have feminine wiles.

             After a montage of shopping, Mr. Knuckles brings the group to the ball where he gives them the details to the mission. They need to infiltrate a party in order to find a traitor selling the secrets of Dolten to foreign nations. He also warns them that rumors claim an inquisitor from Ord is around, and therefore they must be careful. They are let inside after Umi rubs herself up against the gate. There a Half-orc Witch gives Terryn a symbol of Wode and tells the Changeling that her patron wishes to have a word with her before she enters the party.

             As Umi and Revlis play around in the fountain, Terryn goes of the side to speak to Wode. He tells her that, after this mission, she must convince the group to take a ship to the Crescent Isle in order to form a coven with other Changelings. He also gives her an alternative goal for the party; someone inside committed blasphemy against his brother Ode. Terryn is tasked with finding the blasphemer, then killing them and eating their organs where Wode is able to see.

             While Terryn is still receiving order, the rest of the group goes inside where they are greated by the security of the event, the horse lord Ratai Kengan. He gives them the rules of the party, the most important being anyone who uses weapons or magic have to answer to him.  Zara tries to flirt with Ratai, but fails, so decides to just focus on drinking. Umi breaks down crying for no reason, so Ratai conforts her, but still threatens her regardless. Terryn decides to sneak in instead, during which she sees a mysterious person working. She ends up wondering into the kitchen, where she ends to being brought into the ball room regardless.

             Everyone enters the ballroom at about the same time. The girls decide that the best idea is to split up to gather information. Vaeri takes the time to teach Revlis how to say her name correctly. Terryn catches up to the party, who question where she has been, but manage to bluff her way out of suspicion.

             Madeleine and Umi walk up to a dark-hair woman names Tonya Vice. After talking a while, she discloses to the two that she is looking for someone who she claims stole money from her. She refuses to go off to the side with her, as she needs to watch the entrances and exits, but she does tell them that the person has a stutter.

             Revlis walks up Lord Lassiter Brone. She tries to seduce him, easily getting him to dance without much effort and learning some personal information about him. She decides to pump him for information by going in to an adjoining library and “fading to black.”

             Terryn walks up to a gnome Cleric, Sellebembem Ditzybitzy. The cleric openly tells her information about many of the patrons. She briefly names the Half-orc Poet, Cliffface Bonechewer, Deboranda Deldrassil, the monk Bannota Ad’daire, and the adventurer Haxten Vale. She also mentions Lord Lassiter is rumored to be disease ridden. Terryn. In return, tell her a bit about herself.

             In the bar, Zara meets Dwarf Lord Bellethar Bronzeshadow. She attempts to knock him out and steal his beer, which is, unbeknownst to her, that is a traditional Dwarfen greeting. The two decide to drink together.

             Vaeri, decides to dance alone. After a while, she is approached by Lonalas Choral. He talks Vaeri into dancing with him, before he starts asking about the others of the group. Vaeri decides to pretend she does not know them. Vaeri manages to get all but seduces by being called a dragon. She also learns that Lord Lassiter hunts dragons. He also mentions that one of the guest, Mercutio, has been keeping an eye on the group, and that he has a sword that doubles as a holy symbol.

             Back with Umi and Madeleine, they are still looking around the room with Tonya, when Umi notices that Cliffface is looking at her. Umi goes up to talk to him, where the nervous man admits that he is writing a poem about her, which he shows her. He asks her if she is a bard, which she conforms. Cliffface tells about how he was not allowed in the Bard Colleges because he was a Half-Orc. While comforting him, Umi touches him, which causes the man to feel emotion from being touched for the first time. Umi then further hugs him, causing him to fully break down crying. This experience causes Umi to learn the Song of the Sea.

             Meanwhile, Revlis learns the man she is “fade-to-blacking” with a Lord Lassitor, he is a slave trader, he hates dragon, is trying to get a law passed to have all lizard people to be treated as second class citizens, and is trying to expand such laws from the town of Bleak to other region. Also during the act, he makes it clear to her that he does not see her as a person and is little more then a toy to him. He did not have a any marks on his hand. After he is done and leaves, Revlis, disgusted, sorrowful, and ashamed from the things he said, and potentially did, to her, just takes a moment to cry to herself.

             Meanwhile, Terryn continues to talk with Sellebimbim. At this time, she learns about the history of The Reckoning. Sellebimbim also gives her recommendations to visit Excrizintine Booble Swinzelow Backslash-and-Forth 7th for clothing, before Sellebimbim goes to talk to Lord Lassitor. She then moves on to talk to Deboranda, who was in the process to shooting down Haxten. They both recognize each other as witches, and so Deboranda opens up to her. She mentions she is the host of the party, and tells Terryn that she found traces of blaspheme in her bathroom. The only clue she was able to determine is that the person who did so cut their hand.

             Meanwhile, Zara is smashed after drinking with the Bellathar. Realizing that she is heavily drunk, he gives her a smoke of his pipe to keep her conscious. While talking, he mentions about his past, how he lost his wife, misses his son, and, as a cleric, healed someone’s hands earlier the night.

             Zara manages to get out of him that this person was Cliffface Bonechewer.