Realms S1E19 Ashes of Edayk

We see the best and worst of Edayk’s citizens as they pick up the pieces after the battle and lay the fallen to rest. From the ashes Denahi gains a new friend, and Farlan is once again reunited with the party.

Player Characters Present
Torq, Denahi, Burakubuu, Farlan

Synopsis
After a harrowing day, our heroes awaken the next morning to a visitor. Dorius, as he is wont to do, has popped in with a request and a -lot- of gold. He informs the party that Jeidobii is still at the Keep, staying close to his niece and nephew and preparing for a community funeral service. He'd like Denahi, Torq and Burakubuu to attend, but in the meantime there is another matter: looters. Baseless opportunists have seen the tragedy as their chance to pillage, and Dorius would like the trio to do what they can to police the matter.

The heroes agree to intervene should they come across any looters and Dorius takes his leave. Burakubuu notices Zin and Harkin are nowhere to be found, and finds a note from Zin encouraging him to visit an old friend's daughter, Trixie. He shows the others and they agree to set out into the city to check on their friends. As they set out, Burakubuu takes Rydel aside and asks what it will cost to care for the families of the fallen staff and to repair the manor. With Torq and Denahi's approval, Buu hands over the indicated sum without hesitation.

Trixiee's shop is, surprisingly, next door to the manor. How the party never noticed the loud and garish domicile is beyond me. Her shop adorned with all manner of clockwork, it is apparent that Trixie is a tinkerer. The party steps in and meets a delightful pink-haired dynamo of energy and inventiveness. Buu tells her of the note, and Trixie the Gnome offers her services. Excitedly, the trio realizes Trixie might be able to enhance their oxen friend, Carlox. Trixie finds the idea delightfully enticing and tells them she'll need five days.

Back in the town, the party sees Heavy Metals in disarray. As they approach Buu reacts to an arrow speeding towards his head. He deflects it just as two more arrows hit the wall to each side.

"Your reflexes are even better than I remember, friend!"

Farlan steps out from the shadow of a side alley and greets the party. He explains that he had followed a contingent of orcs this way only to discover they were joining the massive raid on the city. He'd done his part from the sidelines to thin the numbers.

The happy reunion is cut short by a scream and commotion from within Heavy Metals. Farlan joins our heroes and they rush in to find a pack of intermingled goblin and humans alike tearing through the shop.

Burakubuu implores the looters to lay down their arms and surrender, but Torq is not so merciful. The looters refuse, moving to attack. The party strikes them down with speed and fury. Torq relents when there is only one left, taking him by the throat as Buu asks why they're doing this. Desperation and resentment are the answer. Torq clenches his fist and the young man is no more.

They hear a faint whimper to the side and discover Lela, alive but badly hurt, beneath some rubble. Torq tosses the mess aside as Denahi mends Lela's shop. She thanks them and the party heads back out into the town. They go to check on Harkin and find his forge abandoned, but no signs of struggle or danger.

They pass Potable Potents, utterly destroyed with no survivors. They see devastation and damage everywhere they go, but also hope, and people pitching in to help each other.

Then they come upon The Potion Shoppe. Inside, Cahan. Dead. After a moment to accept the loss of their recent friend, Denahi takes a ring from Cahan's hand, sensing, oddly enough, that it feel abandoned and needs saving. They find also some seeds, and a smattering of salvageable potions.

Burakubuu thinks to check for any ledgers or documents that might indicate a next of kin only to discover that Cahan's only family was his mother who owned Potable Potents, the very shop they'd just passed with no survivors within. With Torq's assistance, Cahan is wrapped and taken outside to the carts so he can be part of the upcoming services.The dragon Nyko is nowhere to be seen.

The group decides to check on the Cracked Rock and see if there are any leads on Romyn's whereabouts. Moving into the Rookery, they discover a sudden shift in the level of destruction. It was here the orcish armies made their initial break into the city, and here where official repairs and relief have yet to reach. The dire situation here, with no aid coming, starts to shed some light on the looting elsewhere. These are a lost and abandoned people, fending for themselves amidst the devastation, yet still citizens all the same.

As they make their way to the tavern, Torq, Denahi, Buu and Farlan make what small gestures they can to help put out fires, move rubble, and help people up. The people see this and join in, inspired. It's a pretty beautiful moment til someone decides to smash and grab a scrying mirror.

Anyway...

The party enters the Cracked Rock to discover it is... not largely any different. Granted, it was already a mess full of rowdy drunks and smashed glass and today it's no different. Buu gleefully greets Styx, who responds ith his signature sneer. Business as usual at the goblin's tavern. Styx has no news on Romyn, offering only that he has likely gone "hunting." With that, the party heads to the Square for the ceremony.

Gathered in the Square, the assembled townspeople have placed the fallen upon floating pyres. A procession makes it way through the crowd, headed by the Duke and his children with Jeidobii following closely. As he passes, Torq, Denahi, Farlan and Buu offer their condolences. Their friend says little, head down. As the funerary boats push out to sea, a volley of flaming arrows fly across the harbor and find their marks, lighting up the departed in cleansing fire.

Dorius approaches the party with another request, but this time of a less martial nature than all previous favors: help rebuild the city. Of course our heroes agree, and they spend an arduous but rewarding five days doing exactly that, putting all their strength and talent into the effort. Buu even proves himself an able carpenter. In some ways, the simplicity of the repairs and seeing their immediate effect on the lives of the people becomes a welcome break from the other travails and horrors of late.

When we catch back up to the team, they've returned to the manor for a much needed rest. Torq has his own special ale brewing, welcoming the adventurers with its intoxicating scent. They settle in for food, libations, and companionship. As they drink and dine, Denahi feels a pull from the ring she procured from Cahan's shop.

Instinctively, she responds to it's call and suddenly finds the tiny dragon Nyko at her side. The tiny creature looks to her first with confusion, then sadness as realization washes over him. He nuzzles up against her and Denahi comforts the little creature.

Our heroes settle in for the night. Farlan will be departing early to take up his search once more and the last five days were exhausting. Though they fall fast asleep, the night does not go uninterrupted. Torq is troubled with ghastly visions of his family. He wakes and goes back to his brewing to settle his mind.

Burakubuu finds himself once more looking through the eyes of the knight, but this time the tiefling woman is at his side, looking to him with a bundle in her arms.

The next morning, Burakubuu awakes and seeks out Arryn. He assists the inured caretaker and makes breakfast for everyone and it is, surprisingly, edible. Enough so that Denahi even loads up some for the road after feeding her new companion, Nyko. Just then they remember it's been time enough for Trixie to complete her surprise! They rush out to find the bombastic gnome putting the finishing touches on not only glorious armor for Carlox, but a newly tricked-out cart for their bovine buddy. But the wonder don't end there; at flip of a switch the cart opens up to reveal a mounted ballista! And yet, somehow, she still isn't done. As a final touch, she gifts Burakubuu with a special surprise for Jeidobii when he returns.

Farlan asks where he might procure some supplies for the road before he sets off once more. The party takes him to Gnome Depot, where they discover a despondent Mils. In the midst of the battle, his crush, Nybi, was... well... crushed. Torq offers his condolences, recalling how he'd helped the little man confess his feelings to the carpenter not that long ago. Denahi inquires where she might find black pearls, and Mils directs her to a shop in the Upper Steppes. As they set out, Farlan takes his leave, promising to return once those who murdered his wife and children have met their demise.

After Denahi procures the black pearls she sought, the trio decides there may be merit in searching Ted's place for clues or leads. Scouring the residence top to bottom they find nothing to indicate where Ted has gone, nor anything that might help them exploit a weakness. Denahi finds a portrait of Ted's wife and cuts it loose of its frame, packing it away just in case, somehow, it might prove useful.

With that, the trio sets off for the Keep to gather Jeidobii and inform him of their next steps...