Interlude: lifting the mist

On board the (name) Darren asked Penny to assess the soul engine to make sure it suffered no damage as the rest of KJ had. Meanwhile M. Justine was inconsolable and no one had any words to ease her loss. I tended to the wounded with Jeanette, who also did not have the knowledge and power to heal Felix though she said she would consult others about it. Then for some reason, all of Mystery Inc fell into a deep sleep, including myself, which was highly unusual. Alphy and Ali woke us in Norlahold with some unsettling news of an undead ambush in back at Hearth, targeting Jeeng's family. His mother barely escaped with grave injuries while his father died bravely in battle. We had no choice but to ask the Griffin's corpse for answers to the Tide's intentions using our Speak with Dead Zone of Truth combo. Unfortunately this still didn't tell us much more than we already knew but we did learn that if we kept the Griffin mask from them, The Tide would have to make a new puppet warrior from square one. Upon returning to Hearth, Jeeng's friend escorted us immediately to his parent's home where we found Jeeng's mother resting and surprisingly that Red the warforged had remained in town, awaiting the Tide's return to exact his revenge. Mean while we debated the fate of the jungle only to conclude that further analysis of the aftermath was needed before any outcome can be selected. I personally hope we can convince the remaining lizafolk to cease aggression in the absence of the Serpent's influence. While the rest of the party split to chase leads, I stayed home with Thalia and just as Jeeng returned from his parent's, Penny and Justine burst in with breaking news that Darren has been spirited away by a RT operative! Without a moment to waste, Penny summoned her dragon to give chase as I attempted to locate Darren while Justine followed on her broom. We caught up to Darren and the RT but I failed to capture him and the operative took that moment to mortally wound Penny. She warned us not to follow but also claimed to return Darren once she'd finished with him. Justine and I saw that she meant what she said, both threat and promise so we tended to Penny and raced home to decide our next move with Jeeng. Eventually the party was convinced to wait upon Darren's return.... which he did in the promised time. He knocked on our door in the middle of the night and I woke the others to here what news he'd bring. Firstly he warned us not to attempt any detection of what magics might work in him presently. Next, news of the remaining fighting lizardfolk aim to capture the last independent Herb tribe. After he'd relayed all he could, Penny and Justine filled him in on how he acted when he fled with the RS. We then made preparations to survey the Herb Tribe for possible paths to a peaceful resolution. Darren and I convinced Joz and Red to join the Airship crew for this one.