Last night on

As you may have noticed, we've been having a difficult time finding our focus in D&D these last couple of months, between holidays and just a general sense of nonsensical goofiness. It's hard not to get distracted when you're at a table with a bunch of your friends, laughing like an idiot over something goofy like bursting into Sisters, Sisters and unexpectedly getting four of five guys to back you up on it. (That was, by the way, one of my favorite moments in quite some time!)

Last night we did have a Motherlover moment where Jason and I couldn't help bursting into raucous song, but in my defense, we also had several moments where we just laughed too hard to do anything. Still! It was the most focused we've been on D&D in a while.

As the party prepared to set sail from Vellas, we discovered several things were off about our ship. For one, Xenocrates wanted to inform us that he'd discovered a mysterious crate with airholes and, for whatever reason, cast ESP on it. It seemed that there was some kind of sentient creature there, so the party rolled up their figurative sleeves and went to investigate (we made Sylvia open the box, though Sabine or Llewain might be stronger than her-- well, you know, it's good to be PCs and it's even better to be prepared in case the box had contained something actually threatening). Rather than be anything dangerous, however, it turned out to be a little girl, eight or ten at most, in a ragged dress. She tried to tell us her name was Darkstar, to which no one would agree, and then reluctantly said we could call her Lily. We tried to figure out who'd sneaked her aboard, but weren't certain; we sent Iris and Sylvia into town to get a new, not-ragged dress for her, then prepared to set off for the constabulatory to see if she matched any missing persons reports. However, we were waylaid by two suspicious figures who were dressed as members of our crew, but asked rather noticeably if we had anything we wanted to leave behind.

We gave them a suspicious look, and when they tried to run, Sabine tackled one, Denar tried to grab the other, and Llewain caught him with a dagger to the hamstring when he kept running. Esra approached the fallen one, turning him over with one foot and wondering what their business was, only to nearly get attacked as the man drew a shortsword. Esra hastily backed off as two extremely convenient guards walked up to 'arrest' the men, claiming that the man Llewain had handicapped was Vargas, the infamous assassin! The guards made as if to arrest the others and assured us we needn't come to the barracks with them, to which Llewain responded that we were already headed that way to identify whether the little girl was missing or not. When they tried to demur that they really didn't need us to come with them, we became suspicious of them as well. They tried to run, and Esra cast a spell upon them that made them each light as a feather. Before they could blow away, Denar caught their feet and held them, as Iris called for the REAL guard.

Arresting the four assassins, the cadre of the guard who'd responded to our call asked us to come with them to answer a few questions (had we ever seen the men before, what was our business on the boat, etc), and we fell into step behind them to do so. This left us with the discussion of what to do with Lily, who Esra was giving a piggy-back ride. Sabine, being Sabine, wanted to toss her overboard; Llewain and Iris and Denar thoughtfully wanted to take her to the constabulatory to see if she matched any missing-persons reports. Esra, being not-so-secretly lonely without his cute daughters around, wanted to add Lily to the crew and had very few qualms about it. Iris seemed perplexed.

Sabine: Don't you have some already? Daughters.
Iris: Yes, that's a good question. Of course, don't take this the wrong way, we're very pleased to have you with us and you've been quite helpful, but-- why aren't you home with your daughters?
Esra: Ah. Um. Well, you know how-- Llewain has assassins after him because of things he used to do, back in the day?
Iris: You used to be an assassin?
Esra: Oh, no. Well, I stole things for a, um, society back during the war, but as it turns out someone seems to be killing everyone in that society...
Sabine: For crying out loud! Does anyone else have assassins after them?
Iris: Well, I don't, but I think my share comes from the rod, which means they went to Esra since he's carrying it right now.
Esra: Er, yes.
Sabine: You? Do you have any assassins after you? [to Denar]
Denar: ....possibly.
Sabine: Damn it!

At the barracks, we asked that they check for reports of the girl going missing, expressing our desire to confirm that she was not a runaway before permitting her to join our crew. Meanwhile, they interrogated our would-be assassins and told us they'd come to us once they had the information and asked where we'd be staying. We decided to head back to The Last Honest House and have a meal (as much for Lily's benefit as that we were already hungry). In the inn, we were faced again with the daunting task of deciding where the blazes we wanted to go. Denar expressed a mild interest in going to Carina, which brought Sabine back to her desire to head there and seek out the nobleman we escorted the one time so she could kill him for the bounty on his head. The problem of whether we should confront Bishop Dinta or not (about his obvious plot to in some way engineer a Speaker of Sulafta who was false) was bandied back and forth.

Whilst eating, Esra tried to convince Sabine that Lily was adorable and should be kept on the ship.

Sabine: I'm not calling her Darkstar.
Esra: So call her Lily! She can stay with us.
Sabine: Why do we need a kid on board? There's no place for a kid.
Esra: Well, Reginar is with us because his parents sold him to be...well, dead, and Lily claims to be an orphan-- even if it's not true, I'm sure we can find a place for her.
Sabine: No, see, there was a reason to take on Reginar, that was different.
Esra: If we have two then Reginar won't get lonely! She'll be fine, you'll see.
Sabine: Hey.
Lily: H-huh?
Sabine: Kid, you like beef?
Lily: Um, yes, I do.
Sabine: [waver] All right, I'm gonna call you Beefcakes, then.
Esra: [shaking his head] What about fish?
Sabine: [makes a face]
Iris: Yes, when rations are low, all the beef would go to Sabine, first.
Lily: It's okay, I guess. Oh, could I have it in a plum marinade?
[Iris and Esra trade surprised looks. Our girl seems to have expensive, Libra-specific tastes; could she be from a noble house?]
Sabine: What's a marinade?

When the guards finally contacted us, they let us know that House Epsilon-- Iris's house-- had contracted the would-be assassins, and suggested we make sail rather than try to tangle with a noble house, as well as the fact that no one had reported the girl missing. We decided to add her to our crew as a helper, and everyone seemed to have something they wanted to teach her (which led to an exchange between Dustin and Bret: "She's going to grow up to be a Bard, you know." "Oh, god, we are raising her WRONG!")

We set sail after a brief run-in at the inn with a fat man in mish-mash armor named Kero Sene (a reference to one of Christian's characters back on a persistent world) who professed to be a huge fan of Iris's and possibly Sabine or Llewain's. He was a trifle creepy at Iris, but she gave him the magic comb she's been holding on to but not using for ever, and Llewain graciously parted with his spring. (We'll miss you, spring!)

We decided to set sail for Carina after all, after trying to set a location using the compass of Heart's Desire, which notably no longer worked for anyone. A curious flaw; it's hard to say whether the compass was engineered to have worked for the crown as part of Dinta's plot to get the crown, or if we've done something or been affected by something to make it lose its power. It notably may also have been stolen from us by one of the many people moving against us and replaced with a fake, given our track record. In any case, Carina did hold the potential to resolve the trouble with Dinta, as well as visit Denar's hometown, apparently, so we decided to head that way. The journey was uneventful, with the exception of a massive, dead sea serpent we ran into along the way. Seeing that it wasn't possible to harvest the meat for anything edible, we hacked it apart so we could pass (when I say 'we', I mean 'Sabine, and some of our twenty-some-odd faceless NPC guys). Something like eight days later we arrived in Nys once more, where the port authority was suspiciously friendly to us and seemed to have been informed of our impending arrival by someone of influence who wanted to ensure we were not obstructed when entering the city.

When we tried to leave and head for Lunel, however, as well as Denar's secret village or whatnot, we found the way blocked by four guards (possibly paladins of Sulafta) who informed us kindly that they'd been asked to meet us by Bishop Dinta, and that he was, in fact, in Nys and not Lunel, so they could take us to him now.

We debated whether we wished to meet him or not, but the answer was, more or less, not and so, we politely informed them that we were going to go to Lunel and he could meet us there if he really desired to speak with us. The crowd around us seemed to be taking notice of us, and it seemed as though possibly there might be trouble about to brew as heads turned, noticing our conversation. At our declaration that we would not meet with Dinta, the guards drew their swords. All around us, we heard the sounds of more swords being unsheathed, as many of Dinta's agents stepped forward.

Llewain drew his knife, shrugging, and Esra stepped forward, shouting "Do you not know who you are dealing with? We are the Hurdu Trading Company!" He meanwhile completed casting a spell to summon a massive illusion, and gestured at the sky, guiding their eyes up as what appeared to be a gold dragon flew up over the city from the sea, roaring, its wings seeming to beat great puffs of air as it circled, seemingly at Esra's command.

Instantly, the town went into a panic, and the many agents who'd surrounded us faded back into the fleeing crowd, running with it. This left only the four who'd first challenged us, who swore that they'd made oaths to take us to Dinta and would not renege on those oaths. They immediately started attacking Esra (wise choice!) while Llewain, Sabine and Denar set about stabbing, crushing, and slicing them up, in turn. Even Iris helped out, whacking them to try to draw their attention off.

They were not phased, however, and one cut a mighty blow to Esra right off the bat, briefly breaking his control over the illusion. It stilled before he could regain control, and they noticed. Their leader told the others, "Keep attacking the wizard! It's working, it's breaking his control over the dragon!"

Esra very nearly went down before Llewain, Sabine and Denar could finish the guards off. Having lost concentration again, he couldn't make the dragon seem to fly off realistically, and when it did fade away, it was still partially in view of the town, alas. The two remaining guards, once Llewain knocked out the second one, surrendered, asking to be spared so they might save their fallen friends at the nearest temple. The party agreed, though Denar seemed to be out for blood, and Esra chided him for the attitude; Llewain made a point to tell them to reconsider their vows to Bishop Dinta, and Iris agreed that they were on their way to Lunel to make known his heresy and that he might not be the best person to follow so blindly.

When Esra nearly fell, as the guards left, Sabine started teasing him. Denar caught him before he could collapse.

Denar: You don't look too well, friend.
Esra: Hey, are-- there two Sabines, or am I just hallucinating?
Denar: You're hallucinating.
Esra: Oh, good. I don't think I could handle two.
Sabine: Pushover!

Fortunately, Iris had some blessings of Sulafta on hand, so she healed Esra as best she could before they set out again towards Lunel, marching on till the middle of the night. By the time they reached the city of the Grand Cathedral, Esra was pretty weak, and asked if they could rest. Sabine told him to quit whining, and Llewain and Iris suggested that they'd best bring their evidence to the other bishops immediately, heading in to the Grand Cathedral to seek a midnight council with Bishop Barlowe, whom we believe to be a more honest man, and likely to take offense at Bishop Dinta's plan.

We'll find out what he thinks next week, it seems!