The Wandering Isles: Session 101
The silence after the destruction is the first thing Dash Heidmann notices. The house is gone, erased into a clean absence, yet there had been no roar, no shockwave, no thunderous collapse. Just a flash, and then nothing but a hole in the ground. Eos wonders whether it might have teleported rather than exploded, while Hatsu notes that there are ways to silence destruction if someone knows what they are doing. The strangeness of it hangs over them, but the group cannot afford to stand there for long.
Hatsu then turns his attention to what Dash managed to recover. Dash explains that he is carrying a suit, daggers, photographs, and a journal. He shows Eos the pictures: images of many different species, some resembling Eos, some resembling Boreal, and others stranger still. Recognising the sensitivity of what they have found, the group gives the photographs to Hatsu so he can hide them safely.
Dash returns to speak with Elara Heidmann and asks what she knows about Lucius Shadowbane, but Elara is evasive and invasive in equal measure, asking questions rather than answering them cleanly. When Dash shows her the journal, she tells him it is likely cryptic and contains far more than it appears to at first glance. Whatever Marcus left behind was not meant to be read plainly.
Elsewhere, Eldrin Drosk pulls Eos aside to explain the problem with her mask. It is drawing eyes, and not only because it makes her stand out. To Eldrin, it resembles masks from the history of Bricksunder, connected to a cult or group responsible for hunting and killing people with gas. Worse, he believes that same visual connection may tie back to the people who kidnapped him months ago. Eos explains that she based the design on descriptions of Rhea Tintreach, not on anything from Bricksunder, but the resemblance is still dangerous. Eldrin suggests that perhaps Elara could help make something new for her, though Eos declines for now and says that can wait until they are back at the Bastion. She insists the mask is still better than revealing her true face. Eldrin warns that wearing it could invite confrontation because it represents something she is not. Eos, thinking through the symbolism, recalls being called a "blighted child" and suggests that if one wants to remove a blight, perhaps one must be willing to handle a plague, even if that means wearing something like a plague doctor’s mask.
Meanwhile, Dash tells Hatsu that he needs to speak with someone difficult: Lysa Sablewood’s uncle. He explains that they are not on good terms. Hatsu asks whether Lysa left without permission, but Dash clarifies that the issue is less about permission and more about trust. They need to ask questions about the Archon, and Hatsu adds that they should also be asking about Ramseth, the Sun King. The two agree to speak carefully, using code where necessary. Dash makes the rules clear: keep it coded, and pay close attention to what truths and lies Lysa’s uncle chooses to give them. He gets Hatsu a drink, then they head toward their target.
Their destination is Corvin Sablewood, one of the few guild members authorised to kill. When they arrive, Corvin cuts through the small talk almost immediately, and Dash answers by being direct. He tells Corvin he is looking for bigger jobs, but Corvin dismisses him. Dash is not yet a large enough name to be handed that kind of work. Dash then asks who he should thank for saving his mother, but Corvin keeps the secret buried, saying only that someone owed someone else a favour and that the debt is now cleared.
As they leave, Hatsu asks Dash if he is alright. Dash admits he is mostly worried about his phrasing and word choice. In Palperroth, words are more dangerous than daggers. Hatsu asks why they did not simply bribe Corvin, but Dash explains that flashing a lot of money in a place like this raises the wrong questions from the wrong people. Hatsu then asks whether, if they have time, they can visit Elysium Academy so he can see where Asuka studies and leave her a goodbye letter. Dash agrees to take him there tomorrow.
With that settled, they plan to do a little shopping before getting some rest, reminding Eldrin that he still needs to get a sword. Dash buys him an expensive gift, prompting Hatsu to question why Dash haggled in Saigo no Toshi but not here. Hatsu decides to try haggling himself, pretending to be a merchant of the king. The vendor questions him, so Hatsu escalates the performance by placing an apple on Dash’s head and cutting it cleanly in half. The display works well enough that the vendor gives them back two moons. Eldrin buys his sword, and Eos buys her books. Eldrin names the blade "Dawn's Promise" and has it inscribed in Seraphic with the words "The Light does not ask permission to rise".
Later, Dash speaks privately with Lysa and explains that they will need Mirelle Vaudrelle. Gaining her help may require charm, and that, he says, is his part to play. He does not want Lysa to worry, and if she prefers another approach, he will understand. Lysa tells him that flirting is fine; it is part of the job. Dash then lays out the larger plan: to use Vaudrelle’s enterprise empire to establish passive income through shipping, strengthening their merchant cover while building something useful beneath it.
Night passes, and a new day begins. 02 Crimsonleaf 1543 arrives. Eldrin wakes from a dream of combat only to find that the source of disturbance is Eos poking him in the face. She speaks with him about the visions she had before, with Weslyn, from Session 99. She explains that Remington is due to die, and that the Purity Edict is coming. She is clearly frightened by what she has seen. She does not know who to talk to, and the uncertainty is eating at her. The vision might mean nothing, or it might mean everything, just as her vision of Weslyn touching the stone seemed to matter more than she first understood.
Eldrin asks how they are supposed to find Remington, but Eos does not know. She is left circling the same fear: that something terrible is coming, that they may not know how to stop it, and that waiting too long could make them responsible for failing to act. In that unease, she begins to wonder whether they should be giving people some kind of permission pass, a way to protect or warn them before the danger fully arrives.
