The Wandering Isles: Session 74
The siege drags on, and the group pushes through another frantic stretch of chaos and discovery in Saigo no Toshi.
Slate approaches Kaelora as the influence of the blood moon finally slips from her. Her crimson glare softens back to purple and she regains control of herself. He asks for the names of any rebels she knows, then offers a mage hand to help move debris. Kaelora matches his effort, then takes a shovel and a crowbar from him and fuses them for the strongman nearby. With their combined strength, they begin cutting through the wreckage of the explosion from a few days earlier.
Elsewhere, Asuka and Hatsu go over the plan. She heads out to raid a stronghold for supplies while Hatsu and Ayame speak with Slate about the shortage of food and the hope of securing more rations.
Across the city, Dash sprints over the backs of stampeding animals to chase down Duckie, Eos’ horse. He leaps onto the creature just as Eldrin’s phantom camel is knocked aside by an elephant. In the chaos, Eldrin ends up on Duckie while Dash tumbles to the ground. Dash tries to help Eldrin up, slips, and falls again. Eldrin circles back, grabs him, and they ride into the city together.
They catch sight of Amaedrianna on the ruined rooftop of Hatsu’s childhood home, the one she accidentally unleashed the animals from. Boreal roars overhead with Hatsu’s mother and grandmother in his arms. Dash dismounts and sprints toward Hatsu while guiding Duckie toward the hidden tea house.
Eldrin keeps riding and Slate hears him coming. Archers draw on the horse long before Eldrin turns the corner. Slate rigs one hundred ball bearings and some rocks on the makeshift shovel and has Malrik launch them like improvised artillery. When Eldrin appears, Slate shouts “FINGER GUNS” and the shot scatters the archers, saving Duckie from being skewered.
Eldrin reunites with Slate, spots Nora fighting across the street, and hears where Lysa was last seen. Then he tries to take Duckie to safety, but Slate holds him back long enough to check with Malrik. Even with doubts, they decide Duckie needs to reach the safe house.
A barricade waits for Eldrin near the tea house, so he uses Slate’s message from Vathros to figure out the trick. It is an illusion. Eldrin walks backwards, hands on either side of Duckie’s head like makeshift blinders, and guides him through.
Inside, Eos is trying to decide what to do with the two newborns, one angelic, the other devilish. Weslyn shrugs and says you clean them and give them to their mother. When Eos asks how many births he has handled, he nervously admits this is his first. They chat about seasons, names, and the odd way the babies look. Lysa explains that she and Dash chose the names Ash and Elysa.
Eldrin arrives soaked and exhausted. Weslyn immediately asks to speak with him alone, then has him remove his goggles. Eldrin’s golden eyes flare with Dawnmarked light, and Weslyn studies him closely. Elysa’s features match his kind. She is clearly one of them, even though she is the child of Dash and Lysa. Eldrin is shaken when he sees the infants but not frightened. Something in him softens and he quietly claims responsibility. He calls Ash a rebel like his parents and promises to protect him.
He tells Dash through the Vathros link that Lysa and the children are safe. Dash races across rooftops in relief.
Meanwhile, Eos wonders how to get Duckie down the stairs without crushing anyone. Weslyn realises his fox companion is missing, and Eldrin explains the creature is waiting by the river outside the city. They drop the matter as the conversation turns to how Eldrin reached them.
Back at the ruined Toshitsugu home, Dash, Ayame, and Hatsu spot Boreal firing bolts of fire at Amaedrianna high above the street. The house is mostly gone. Dash slips in during the distraction and steals nineteen boxes of rations plus a large medical kit. He almost runs into Ironclad on his way out. Hatsu searches the cellar and finds that it was converted into cells and a torture chamber. He uses an illusion of the Archon’s voice to pull Ironclad away, then quietly searches the house. He finds new rations and family papers while Thrakgar arrives to check on the disturbance.
Dash spots Hatsu, follows Thrakgar, and meets a woman at the prison window who attacks him. He drops his disguise before taking another blow. Hatsu collects mementos upstairs then chases after Thrakgar. Above, Amaedrianna recites Hatsu’s prayer to a feral Boreal who pauses, then listens. She begs him to carry Hatsu’s family to safety and he does.
Amaedrianna later meets Hatsu and Dash on the ground and tells them the family is already heading to the tea house. Dash asks the woman’s name. She says Alira.
Inside the prison they find Thrakgar barking orders. Hatsu drops a smoke bomb. Dash, using his disguise again, lures two guards away. Amaedrianna slips along the rafters and finds Hashirama barely alive. She drops down, kills the last guard, and she and Dash break open the cells. Amaedrianna straps Hashirama into a harness called the Halo and flies him toward the tea house. Eldrin senses her approach through Vathros.
Dash goes to catch up with Hatsu but finds the same woman again. She asks to follow them. He agrees and tells her they are going to the tea house. When he turns his back she strikes him with a poisoned blade. Her form shifts and she becomes Latch. He tells Dash to say hello to papa Slate.
While all this unfolds, Slate, Malrik, and Kaelora finally clear enough rubble to reveal several unconscious survivors, including the real Alira. Slate gives himself a shaky pep talk, then gets to work healing them one by one until they are stable. Malrik drags them out on a tarp.
Slate taps a pipe to check for more survivors and hears a response from outside. He follows the sound and is greeted by Drel Morrix, who stands with a crowd. Malrik is also surrounded.
Amaedrianna searches for a safe landing but cannot find one. Dash struggles to stay upright as the poison overtakes him. Eldrin steps outside to meet Amaedrianna and instead finds Hashirama slumped against the tea house wall with no sign of her.
Hatsu reaches the back room of the prison and finds Thrakgar waiting. Thrakgar puts his feet on the desk and says he has time to end a name. Ayame draws her swords.
In the safe house below, Weslyn fails to get Duckie down the stairs and Eos keeps watch over Lysa. Her migraine builds. She looks in the mirror and sees Ekdíkisi staring back. Ekdíkisi says it is nearly time to take the boy to the stone but first she will make good on her promise to help Eos’ allies.
Asuka infiltrates another facility to collect more supplies. Elder Kōen heads for the temples to rescue whoever he can. Masaki returns to the stables where he hid the workers. Nora and Orla sweep through the market and residential districts. A threat moves steadily over the ocean, something that belongs only to the king.
Far away, Weslyn’s old invitation is finally answered. He finds himself deep in a forest that is nowhere near The Isles, and his story begins to split away from the others.
