79 — Vulnerability
Quick Summary
Rin retrieves Stray Boy and a receives a message from The Spades. Solstice reunites with her parents (and Jeff) and makes plans for the Friendship Ball. Ellsee catches up Chicory and Arye on the Annullis Devices and the discarnation cure. Sun-and-Stars test The Abrogators and discuss their feelings about recent events and each other. Chicory helps Arye when everything finally comes flooding to the surface, and recognizes a loss in the mirror.
Session Recap
Session opened with the team on the roof of Gunnar's, deciding that they would wait and see if the Tirista and C.I. called for extra hands. Rin saw the smoke in the distance and wanted to go by her apartment, so she used a scroll of disguise self to look uninjured and less conspicuous. Solstice went with her, since she also wanted to go to see her parents, using alter self for the same purpose.
The rest of the team stayed at the shop apartment. As Chicory took notes, Ellsee shared what the secret Genius had told her: that discarnation was caused by a soul being "worn by time" and could be cured by transferring "life force" to the afflicted. Ellsee also shared that the machine she activated was one of the Annulis Devices that the secret Genius had said was key to preventing any more people from being born with discarnation.
Ellsee shared their limited understanding of the devices: that their function is to interfere with different aspects of the multi-layered "veil" around Ambar, which Chicory understood to be the protocol that Belladonna had mentioned. Ellsee explained that there were five in total, all located on the continent of Melémar: three had been turned on at the same time 50 years ago, presumably causing The Awakening, and there was now only one yet to be activated. Chicory recalled the two components from Durix's storage unit, which were intended to be pieces of an Annullis device, and resolved to look more into his diaries later.
Chicory told Ellsee that she did good work today, and Ellsee expressed concern that activating a device that they didn't fully understand will have unintended consequences. When Arye left the room, Chicory expressed worry for Arye, saying that what she had gone through was too much for anyone, and Ellsee replied that she didn't have to bear it alone. They also discussed the power vacuum that would be left in The Hart's absence, and Chicory's choice to forgive Rin.
As they walked, Team Eclipse discussed the vulnerability of having had the team inside of Rin's mind and journeying through her memories. Solstice understood the dislike of being vulnerable, and talked about her decision to keep her parents in the dark as much as possible, in order to protect them (and because she literally can't talk about much of it). Despite how Rin had deflected Solstice's sympathy for her loss by saying that it had only been a place to rest her head and that she could just replace her belongings, Rin was affected by seeing the burnt out remains of her building. With nothing to salvage, the two looked for Stray Boy, and Solstice found her with a ribbon and a playing card around her neck: an ace of spades.
From there the two visited The Summer Court, and Solstice had a slightly smothering, but very loving reunion with her parents. Cozy, Tryfa, and Reverie were all safe and had been well received by the Tetra family, and Jeff had enjoyed his pool time but was delighted to see Solstice again. Atlas, Jupiter, and Dahlia had all worried about the implications of the letter and were relieved to hear that Solstice had come through the tribulation alright: Jupiter in particular wanted to know more, but let it go when his partners insisted they respect Solstice's "verbal NDA".
Solstice introduced Rin as a friend and colleague, and shared then news that she and Ellsee were girlfriends and made plans for her parents to meet Ellsee at the Friendship Ball, and for further time together and a visit to the Magitech Expo once things had settled down. After a double dose of cure wounds and having some of Dahlia's aloe ointment pushed on her, Solstice and Jeff parted from her parents with orders to rest and recover.
The team all settled down for well-earned naps, and when they woke they had dinner together before Arye and Chicory went home to the apartment. Solstice sent her parents a message to arrange visiting plans, and a bouquet to Belladonna to indicate that they had been successful in retrieving the ring.
Solstice and Ellsee then had a talk about what had happened in the hellfire chamber and in the tunnels, and Solstice encouraged Ellsee to admit when she needs help, because "I can't come back to you if there's nothing to come back to." Ellsee apologised sincerely, but when Solstice offered The Abrogators as a potential safety net for the Friendship Ball, they unthinkingly waved off the help before realising her mistake and accepting the offer.
The two tested The Abrogators, and after a time of distraction during which Ellsee could touch and kiss Solstice without needing to hold back their psionics, Ellsee asked Solstice how she was feeling. Solstice eventually admitted that trauma sucks and that her whole life had been a series of deadly dangers, but that they had all made it out okay, so they could all recover. She reiterated how afraid she had been in the lair, when neither she nor Rin knew where Ellsee was, and how she thought she would go through the loss of a love all over again. Ellsee promised to accept help more and do her best to return to Solstice, and after promising that Solstice would know when Ellsee proposed to her, insisted that Solstice wear the Promise Ring for now.
At the SpellSword apartment, Chicory checked in with Arye, who agreed that everything that happened felt surreal and admitted she kept expecting to wake up. Chicory spent time with Willow and made tea, but when Arye took a long time in the shower, they checked on her and found her still dressed and crying under the water. Chicory joined and held her, telling her that she didn't need to apologise and that it was going to be okay. After helping Arye out of her wet clothes, Chicory caught sight of themself in the mirror and realised that they no longer remembered how their face had been scarred. Saving that for later, Chicory put Arye to bed and then joined her for the night. Session ended with Willow protectively watching over the pair as they rested.