Quick Summary
Gunnar’s plans their trap encounter. An open conversation between Ellsee, Solstice, and Rin lead to confessions and promises. Chicory and Arye reconnect. The team celebrates the holiday with their loved ones, and gets Jerem's help with the soul cage. After succesfully reuiniting Laetus' soul with his body and overcoming initial interpersonal difficulties, the team makes their way to Pointlook. The encounter with The Hammer kicks off with a firecracker bang.
Session Recap
With the Hashalaq to draw on for information, Solstice learned of two of the Voices that Gunnar’s hadn’t yet encountered: a being known as “The Ancient One”, which spends much of its time projecting its consciousness outside of its body, and “The Light”, the mysterious and powerful leader of the
Solstice drew out a map of the predetermined meeting area, Pointlook in the Dusk Ward, and the team began to plan out their trap. When the topic of whether or not the team should try to kill Ishalba or remove her from the board in some other way, Arye looked to Chicory to hear their thoughts, and Ellsee and Solstice debated the risks and rewards of both options. The high stakes led to a fiery outburst from Solstice, as she and Ellsee had to agree to disagree on the best method of dealing with The Hammer. As Rin reluctantly suggested possible methods of making it difficult to resurrect Ishalba, Arye excused herself for a breather.
When she returned, the team had settled on a plan and decided to take advantage of the Hashalaq’s presence in Solstice and attempt the soul cage tonight, as well. The team sent for Jerem to come help them, and Arye threw her support behind her friends and agreed to serve as getaway driver and emergency backup.
SpellSword had a private moment in the hall on Arye’s way out. Chicory asked her how she was doing; Arye said she felt stable, but was also feeling the effects of her advanced discarnation. Chicory kissed her knuckles to warm her hands and admitted it hadn’t been the Cherishanna they had been expecting. Arye suggested that after the confrontation with Ishalba, the team seeks help for the large threat on the horizon. Chicory agreed, and after Arye pointed out that there had been good in amongst the struggle and wished them a happy holiday, they kissed in parting.
Back in the living room, Ellsee and Solstice both caught a flash of anger from Rin regarding the Hashalaq, and he took the opportunity to talk to them. He admitted to being uncomfortable with the hashalaq being in Solstice, but agreed with Ellsee that it was Solstice’s choice. He thanked them both for saving them while allusively letting them know that he wouldn’t hold them to anything they said or read into anything they did while trying to reach him. Ellsee lovingly called him a fool and pointed out that they and Solstice have always meant what they said in the past, and assured Rin that it was okay if he was angry, because they never wanted him to feel controlled by them. Ellsee put her feelings into words, saying that they wanted to love Rin like a member of his flock and not a cage, like how they love Solstice not as an anchor, but as the wind in her sails.
Rin became very flustered, and even more shy when Solstice pointed out that she had kissed him more than once. He stammered his way through a well-intentioned attempt to reason away their love confessions, until Solstice took his face in her hands and said directly that she and Ellsee both love him, and told him to stop overthinking and just let himself accept it. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy her touch and kissed her palm. He confessed to wanting them, but said that he wanted to be better and learn who he was before entering into anything that would require his whole heart. When he turned to hold Ellsee’s face and pressed their foreheads together, he admitted that he doesn’t know how long it will take until he feels ready, but promised that his feelings weren’t going anywhere. Ellsee and Solstice both assured him that they would wait as long as he needed, and when he asked for a hug, they gladly embraced him.
After their emotional conversation with Rin, Ellsee held Solstice back to clear the earlier misunderstanding between them, and to reassure Solstice that she would always support her. She gave Solstice a ring of sweet nothings, which was paired with Ellsee’s, and Solstice agreed that they would be able to overcome the upcoming challenges together, as equal partners. Ellsee then asked Solstice to look to Chicory or Arye for support for her heat-of-the-moment decisions in battle, admitting that their instinct would always be to encourage Solstice, but that she was afraid of making a call that might get Solstice hurt. Solstice agreed to take the pressure off of Ellsee.
From there the team headed back to the gift opening with their friends and family. Solstice gifted everyone warm weather clothing; Ellsee passed out thoughtful gifts like an enchanted leather jacket for Arye and a mug of endless tea for Chicory. Solstice gave Lewis a ring of disguise, which he tested out right away and was grateful for, and Ellsee snipped off a ribbon from her hair ornament to tie around his finger in the hope that he would remember his time as Lewis. The team received assorted gifts and alm-leaves from their friends and past clients, and a final surprise of five celestial apples appeared in the room, presents from the young flumph that Chicory and Ellsee had helped.
When Jerem arrived, Solstice and the Hashalaq advised Rin on what to say via sending stone to arrange the meeting with The Hammer, and the team went to the workshop next door. In an inspired moment of partnership and an act of artificing that would make Atlas proud, Solstice and Jerem were able to deftly handle the soulcage and even install a door. When his memories were united with the rest of him, Lewis was buried beneath Laetus’ life experiences and the newly undammed currents of his feelings.
Laetus returned to himself traumatised and angry. In self-defence he defaulted to being unkind and unpleasant, and his re-emergence elicited high emotion from everyone. He had a number of outbursts before he was able to calm down enough to get caught up and be useful. When he requested that someone sedate him during a particularly strong swell of anger, Chicory punched him hard enough to break his jaw, which paradoxically made him feel better. Eventually he was pressured into submission by Ellsee’s own anger and Solstice’s revelation that not only was his relationship to Ellsee common knowledge, but she was also his sister-in-law.
He was able to share some insight into why he had hidden the “circlet” rather than giving it to the kaliesh’erai, and answered some of the team’s questions about The Hammer. He shared her ability to fly and fold space to teleport anywhere on Ambar, and her need for line of sight and concentration to maintain her telekinesis. Over the course of the conversation, he learned of the imminent threat of Atropus. When he asked the team what their plan to protect Ambar was, Ellsee conveyed her hope that there are allies to be found beyond Ambar, and Solstice suggested that the technology of the Callidae might be useful in defence. Laetus disapproved but ultimately eschewed his previous responsibility for the defence of Ambar, believing his life to have already ended and claiming personal vengeance to be his only motivation.
When the team arrived at Pointlook by damselfly, Solstice wisely utilised the wary of eyes incantation and the team jumped into preparations. Ellsee set up telepathic bond and used hallucinatory terrain to disguise The Lila and the trap components, Chicory and Laetus hid nearby, and Rin donned the Magpie mask to await the rendezvous. Everything seemed to go as planned, and as Ishalba approached at midnight, Ellsee felt a premonitory dread as the overcast sky began to churn overhead and the temperature suddenly dropped. They were unable to pinpoint what seemed different about the clouds before their attention was pulled to the encounter.
As soon as The Hammer stepped within the trap, Rin telepathically warned everyone that her dog was not a dog and gave the signal. Chicory and Solstice triggered the firecracker crystals and rocked Ishalba with twin casts of shatter, and Ellsee casting blight. What followed was The Hammer flying up into the air to hit Solstice hard, and her spellhound emerging from the cloud of special effects to hunt down Chicory. Solstice retaliated with the hashalaq’s share pain ability, and Ellsee activated her dragon starry form for the first time and caught Ishalba in hold person… right as she realised that Yunan had joined the fight.