Chapter 5, Session 2: kashdatcheque

General Summary

The Incognitos moved through Varne Gate with Luc Brightrose. Peregrineused her true sight to make sure no one was being scryed on. After checking with the party, Luc sent away his servants, bringing out his bronze pseudodragon, Chindris, to make tea for everyone. Peregrine got him to sit down and, after double-checking that there were no scrying orbs, Peregrine told him about the death and impersonation of Emperor Honour. She repeated everything after Sigholdt Sofiasson cast Zone of Truth but, as she talked, Luc kept an impassive face, taking things surprisingly well. He stated Varne Gate would still honour their oath and leave, as they couldn’t risk breaking it over something random people say, so the city would still evacuate. Peregrine asked him about the devil Daphne, and while he didn’t know much about her himself, Luc was happy for the party to read through the research his Uncle had gathered on her. Luc also added the only way to contact Daphne would be through dying or travelling to her plane. Malus told Luc about his strange dreams, and it became clear Luc was overwhelmed. Cautiously, he gave Malus the advice to learn about ‘Mr Tentacle’ and engage.
The party learned a little more about Malus’ time with The Black-Blooded, and Luc realised Malus was a kid when he was tested on. Upon this realisation, he stated the Black Blooded were not welcome in Varne Gate while the party was there. Luc was very sympathetic. Peregrine asked if the party could help Luc with anything - he answered only if they had the time to look into the crystal being deactivated. Peregrine also noticed Luc was very distant. The party thanked him for the help, and Peregrine shooed the others out before turning to talk to Luc privately. He admitted he was staying after Varne Gate left, as he had a friend to find, a kid from his Uncle’s orphanage who had gone to Kaechaek and lost himself. Reluctantly, he revealed it was Light Bearer Signill, Fionn’s killer. Peregrine promised to keep the party out of his way to avoid them killing him before Luc could reach him. Luc broke down, clearly very overwhelmed. Peregrine tried to reassure him and commiserate about a rough 6 months, mentioning Stretched Ink and her worries about hurting others. Luc told her off for being fatalistic, stating she wouldn’t be an adventurer if she didn’t have hope, and that she’d done a good thing with the docks. The pair parted ways fondly as friends.

Meanwhile, Sigholdt went to get a room in the casino, while Esmerae and Hermione looked for a tavern. As they walked, they heard an intake of breath and watched as the ground opened up beneath a rat, swallowing it down. Esmerae decided to test it out by turning into a flock of birds. She kept 2 safe near Hermione and had one hop to where the rat was. Swiftly, she was dragged down through a tight tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, something seemed to close around Esmerae, killing the bird form. She returned to the other birds, becoming her normal form again and, after throwing up, explained what had happened. After some puzzling, the pair decided to get PEregrine to pester Luc over it.
Sigholdt found the Casino and pulled his Karen act over his horse before going to enquire about rooms. He learned that there was an Event that people in the Casino could watch - learning that it was the strange night events like the goo and the loud noise. Sigholdt went inside to purchase a room, meeting a boss and an employee (Void and Treena). He asked about the Solarium room and, after purchasing it, decided to dismiss his armour and run naked through the street calling for the party to get their attention. Sigholdt managed to avoid being tackled by guards but was chased. He ran past Esmerae and Hermione trying to hide from him, so quickly rounded a corner, re-summoned his armour, and double-backed while whistling to rejoin the pair. Sigholdt’s excuse was he wanted to get to the party before they bought a room in a tavern.
As Peregrine and Malus found the trio outside, they started to talk about the strange ground. Quickly Peregrine doubled back to ask Luc as the party continued some experiments. Eventually, after having strangers and Luc admitting to having seen the effect and thinking they’d just been imagining things, the party decided to leave things for now. The others headed off to the Casino, leaving a note in the dirt for PEregrine. She found the message and went wandering to find the Casino (the Sapphire Mirage) to catch up to them. Eventually, the party converged and got spare room keys before learning about the available entertainment, deciding not to take part in the actual fighting competition for now. Sigholdt went to fetch the sand speeder as the rest of the party put bets on the fighting competitors: Random Woman and Man with Sword.
(the bets: Peregrine - 5g on Random Woman, Hermione - 10g on Random Woman, Malus - 1g on Random Woman, Esmerae - 20g on Man with Sword).
The party discussed what to do the next day, settling on checking out the Bronze Citadel Library. However, they soon got sidetracked by the tiefling boss, Void, selling some of their spare belongings for chips to gamble with. They also learned Void was aware of the Tiamat Casino they’d stumbled across while travelling, discovering Void was a devil from the Hells who was ‘trying something new’. Treena and the stable boy were two of his warlocks. Void was also aware that the ground was acting strangely but had no knowledge of it otherwise.

Report Date

18 Feb 2025