The Wandering Isles: Session 103
Ekdíkisi Tintreach began the evening alone, scrubbing furiously at her arms in an attempt to remove what she saw as an impurity. No matter how hard she worked, however, the different flesh tones remained, and her efforts only left her skin damp, raw and covered in abrasions.
Elsewhere, Dash Heidmann and Lysa Sablewood searched the square for signs of anti-magic devices, concealed mechanisms or trapdoors. Dash carefully mapped possible routes to and from the sacrificial platform where Remington Maleficum was due to be executed in only two days. From the edge of a nearby rooftop, they studied the hundred-foot-square courtyard and discussed the obstacles before them: the crowd, the King’s Guard, the Crisis Response Unit and the simple fact that there appeared to be no reliable way to reach Remington. Their conclusion was that they could not merely get to him; they needed to find a way to bring him to them.
Lysa offered several possibilities, but Dash rejected any plan involving excessive destruction or obvious outside interference. Whatever they did, he did not want it to look as though an external force had attacked the King’s ceremony. Lysa suggested sending a magic user into the square beforehand to test whether spells would function there, after which the pair returned to the others.
Boreal Paleclaw proposed creating a distraction with a giant lizard, but the conversation shifted when he revealed that Hatsu Toshitsugu was unwell. Dash went to collect Eldrin Drosk, who appeared exhausted and reluctant to speak but agreed to join them. Boreal knocked for Eos, only for her to insist that she was busy and refuse to come out. Suspicious, Eldrin approached her room himself. Listening through the door, he heard panic in her voice. She initially tried to dismiss him, but eventually asked whether he understood skin conditions and allowed him inside.
Eos explained that an illusion spell had not worn off properly and that the remaining changes to her skin were deeply upsetting her. Eldrin ordered her to remain calm and seated while he examined her. After checking her medically, he concluded that the condition was psychosomatic, brought on by stress rather than lingering magic. He assured her that it would improve, but only if she stopped aggravating the skin and managed her fear and anxiety.
In the meantime, Asuka Toshitsugu joined Lysa, Dash and Boreal as they began shaping a rescue plan. Eldrin and Eos soon joined them, and the group worked through several possible methods of saving Remington. Boreal suggested flying into the square, seizing him and escaping, potentially picking the lock on his collar if necessary. Eos immediately raised the question of where Duckie would be kept if they used The Seal during the rescue, insisting that the trauma of abandoning her horse somewhere unfamiliar was comparable to Remington’s discomfort at losing his head.
Dash asked how many people Eos could make invisible. She explained that she could conceal one person while maintaining concentration, which led Boreal and Eos into a wider discussion about how concentration worked. Dash reported that he had seen no visible anti-magic mechanisms in the square, though Eos remained deeply suspicious that something had been hidden from view.
Their first plan was to make Boreal invisible, have him fly into the square, grab Remington and carry him away. Should Remington prove too heavy, they could place him inside The Seal or transform him into a smaller creature using Boreal’s magic. The second plan placed Dash on the ground: he would enter invisibly, climb onto the stage, approach Remington unnoticed, place him inside The Seal and walk away. The third involved incapacitating the executioner, replacing him with one of their own people and removing Remington under the guise of carrying out the sentence. A fourth possibility combined the earlier ideas by making Boreal invisible and allowing him to fly Remington directly out of the square.
Eldrin added that he could magically “hold” the executioner to buy the others time. Dash reminded the group that he could perfectly mimic another person, while Eldrin noted that he could provide both healing and flight. Eldrin also questioned how large the crowd would be and proposed creating an enormous quantity of food to distribute among them, potentially causing enough confusion to disguise the rescue. Lysa left to consult the information broker Sarrah Finch and learn the executioner’s identity. While she was gone, Eldrin spoke about the transformation of the trees aboard The Crescent Pearl. He explained that Tempestas had not appeared when the trees became sakura trees; instead, Sister Vaelith had manifested during the event (Session 78). Lysa returned an hour later with little concrete information. The executioner’s identity had always been kept secret. All she had learned was that he was an unusually large man who appeared to take pleasure in killing. Shortly afterwards, Asuka departed, bringing the night’s planning to an end.
Early the following morning, Eldrin and Dash made directly for the square. Eldrin wanted to determine whether magic functioned within it, so he cast a commanding spell upon Dash. He also recalled that the anti-magic systems used in Bricksunder were not conventional wards or spells, but mechanical devices. The spell worked. Dash was compelled to walk towards Eldrin and only became aware of what had happened when he suddenly found himself standing directly before him. With no immediate evidence that magic was being suppressed, Dash climbed a nearby building and sketched the square from above, recording its layout for the rescue.
The day passed, and that evening Dash attended dinner with Mirelle Vaudrelle. As they spoke, a waitress approached their table. It was Lysa in disguise, quietly placing herself close enough to observe and assist. Mirelle discussed business with Dash and flirted mildly with him, but his attention shifted when he noticed a figure standing outside across the street: Lorian Vask, better known as Latch. Dash searched for Lysa but could no longer see her, so he slipped away from the table and confronted Latch outside. When Dash demanded to know why he was there, Latch remained evasive. He remarked that Dash was fortunate he had sent back “the girl” and “the daughter”, referring to Amaedrianna Blüdfist. He then admitted that he had personally delivered Remington to the Crown in Palperroth and casually asked how Slate was doing.
Dash asked what was stopping him from driving a dagger through Latch’s chest. Latch responded by pointing out that Drel Morrix was sitting close to Mirelle. He then transformed into Dash’s appearance and began walking away down the street, leaving Dash to return to the restaurant. By the time he reached the table, Drel had vanished. Dash sat back down with Mirelle and asked whether she had uncovered anything about Kael Bloodstone, known as The Archon. He warned her that the acquaintance he had just encountered worked for the Archon and represented serious trouble. He then asked whether she knew the truth about the following day. Mirelle appeared to know only that the King intended to announce the Purity Edict. Dash pressed further and asked what she knew about Maleficum’s Arcanum of Magic & Might. Mirelle described it as a place for magic users, but Dash corrected her and revealed that he had studied there himself. She fell silent for a long moment before asking why he had chosen to tell her.
Rather than answer with words alone, Dash demonstrated what he had learned. Maintaining intense eye contact and subtly mirroring Mirelle’s movements, he pickpocketed the jewellery from her fingers one ring at a time. He then dropped each ring individually, using the display to reveal both his skill and the control with which he exercised it. It was not an act of threat, but an attempt to show her that dangerous abilities could be used without causing harm.
Mirelle’s response was quiet. “You could have hidden this from me.” Then, after a pause, she added, “And instead you chose to trust me.”
She asked what his revelation meant for them. Dash warned that knowing the truth placed her in greater danger, but Mirelle dismissed the threat to herself. She was concerned about what it meant for him. Lysa returned to the table to serve their food, and Dash used taci-taps to warn her that “Amaedrianna’s father nearby”. Lysa tapped back to ask whether they needed to leave. Dash answered that they would be going shortly. They finished the meal, and Dash left quickly after warning Mirelle to remain careful. Before departing, he asked her to investigate Lucius Shadowbane. Mirelle said she believed Lucius had died long ago, but Dash explained that he had recently heard the name again. She asked when she would see him next, but he was already gone before giving her an answer. Dash returned to the sewers and informed the others that Latch was in Palperroth. The group worried about the additional surveillance and the possibility that their enemies now knew more than they had anticipated, but they continued preparing the rescue. Their principal plan remained unchanged: Boreal would be made invisible, fly into the square and extract Remington, while Duckie would be placed in a safe stable and Remington would be hidden inside The Seal.
Eldrin suggested having their ship set sail during the rescue so that Boreal could fly directly towards it and land aboard as it departed. Eos worried that such an escape would make the vessel immediately suspicious and cause them to be hunted. They discussed several other exit strategies but ultimately accepted that they could not plan for every possibility. They simply needed to act. The group took Duckie to the boat as night settled over the city. Dash then visited his mother, Elara Heidmann, to retrieve the daggers he had left with her. With their equipment prepared and their plan as complete as it was likely to become, everyone settled down for a final long rest. During the night, Eos began to dream. Without warning, every member of the group found themselves awake within the square as Remington repeatedly pleaded, “let me go”. The words continued again and again as the execution approached, until he was moments away from losing his head. Remington said it one final time while looking directly into Eos’s eyes.
At seven in the morning, they all awoke in a cold sweat, carrying the same memory.
The day of the Purity Edict had arrived. The announcement began with every member of the group in position and the rescue prepared.
It was time.
Now or never.
