WSS Summary: World 10, The King's Demise - Session 2

CW / TW for the following:

- Description of severe injuries / slight gore

- Conversation about potentially killing someone who's in a lot of pain and suffering.

These sections will be written in blue text, if you want to skip them.

~~~~~

Present Party: Aria, Claudia, Emori, and Steve. In addition, this party has a guest player. This player's character is Amaya, an air genasi grave domain cleric.

Setting: An old western European style city, called Meloire, capital of the kingdom Vesperion. The party spends most of the session at the royal palace, but also briefly visits town.

Emori and Amaya returned to their apartment in the royal palace, where they stole Claudia from the room, and brought her to the infirmary. They needed answers about Confidence, and how he'd ended up here, hurt like this. Emori had no luck trying to contact anyone from the System Space, but Claudia had some luck earlier. She was hoping that she'd be able to do it again. Unfortunately, this time when Claudia reached out, she didn't get a response at all. They all had to remind themselves that Moderator had warned them at the start of the world that the coworkers were busy. They'd be less inclined to respond at this time.

Symbol frequently associated
with Hacker
Typically bright green in color

Emori asked Claudia if she would help turn Confidence over. She wanted to see if he had a certain mark on his back that they'd seen on him before. It had marked him as the System Hacker's Warlock then, and they'd seen green pinpricks of light where his eyes should be.

~~ CW BEGINS ~~

When they tried to turn him over, Confidence screamed in agony. His fists tightened in the sheets. Checking his back, where they'd seen the mark before, it was hard to tell if anything had been there. The skin was burned, much like the other parts of his chest they could see. Additionally, there were huge open wounds on his back. They weren't bleeding, but they were there. They quickly put him back to where he'd been, though now his body shuddered and his breathing was labored. Emori cast Cure Wounds quickly, apologizing in tears as she tried to comfort him again.

Claudia cast Detect Thoughts on Confidence, and discovered that his surface thoughts consisted of two major things: confusion as to where he was and what was going on, and how much pain he was in.

They asked for Calnan to come by, knowing that he was a paladin. When he did, he claimed to have done everything that he could, but nothing was working.

"How long has he been here?" Emori asked.

"Nearly a year now," Calnan told her.

Claudia was the first to bring up the idea that perhaps it would be better to "save" Confidence this time by ending his suffering. Amaya tentatively agreed to that. Emori didn't want it to come to that yet, not if there was a chance they could actually help him if they all worked together. Claudia was actually surprised Calnan hadn't killed him yet.

"Well... he's a friend," Calnan said. He looked to Amaya. "We met him several times in our day. I thought that maybe I could help him. Magic isn't a common talent here. I'm probably the most powerful caster on the continent, if not in the entire world."

Emori, Amaya, and Calnan all put every bit of healing each of them had into him, hoping it would help more. There was definitely some improvement. Again, those pinpricks of green light appeared in his sockets.

Calnan recommended, "You may want to look away."

He reached for the sheet covering Confidence's torso, and looked underneath. His whole torso from mid-chest down had no skin. Everything inside was visible, burned, and could be seen writhing and working. As good of a caster as Calnan was, healing was not necessarily his specialty. Regeneration magic was also not something that existed in his world, and he knew that was something he would need to fix an injury like that.

~~ CW ENDS ~~

It seemed to be easier for Confidence to speak telepathically, though even his inner voice sounded like it was in pain. He didn't say much, only that everything hurt, and he repeated the phrase "I think I broke it" both out loud and in his mind.

Claudia and Emori asked Calnan if the Shard had been broken, but he claimed that it hadn't.

"But... 'I think I broke it...'" Calnan repeated.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Amaya asked.

"Perhaps... What if 'it' isn't a Shard? It's possible for Shards to be broken, but not likely or easy to accomplish."

"'It' could be the boss," Amaya mused, referring to the System. "What if... he's why it broke?"

Emori and Claudia reminded them that the System didn't know how it broke.

"That might not be true," Amaya told them. "Boss can lie. There are also just... some things the boss refuses to acknowledge. I mean... if you're everything and all-powerful, do you want to admit that you lost to him?"

"It's possible," Calnan agreed. "But it's hard to tell for sure right now."

Before he left, Amaya asked Calnan if he'd go on a walk with her. The two of them made plans to go after dinner, as long as Calnan could take his dog, Wrinkles, as well. He also recommended that the party go into town and have a look at his sister's bakery. It'd been in his family for a few generations, and she ran it now.

Claudia and Amaya decided to go and pick up a few sweets. Emori insisted on staying with Confidence for now.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, Steve and Aria explored the castle. On their way through, they ran into two young halfling girls. One appeared to be about ten or eleven, and the other about five or six. Wrinkles the dog was chasing them playfully. The girls stopped when they saw Steve and Aria and they introduced themselves as Princesses Celeste and Pippa, with the former being the older of the two. They'd heard from their father that there were guests. Both of them were happy to provide a tour of the castle

On their tour, Steve and Aria were shown where nearly everything was and kept entertained by the two young princesses riding on the back of this oversized mastiff. The dog remained calm and friendly with Steve and Aria, despite what they were told it was able to do: delete a person permanently from the System Space.

Steve and Aria also learned that other transmigrators (or "guild members" as Calnan was referring to them) who'd been here before had been violent towards Calnan's family, and that it didn't go well for those transmigrators. Even guards seemed to distrust the two of them being alone with the young princesses, but Celeste insisted it was okay.

After their tour, they met up with Amaya and Claudia. All four of them went on to the bakery, to see what they had to offer.

Cassandra Folkor
Gnome
Calnan's youngest sister
(Art by u/breadings on
Reddit)

They met Calnan's younger sister, Cassandra. She got them any pastries they desired. They also remembered to pick up some for Emori. 

Amaya asked, "You're the king's sister, yeah?"

"I... Yes," she answered, though hesitantly.

"What's his favorite?"

"Well, in recent memory, he's always really liked pumpkin bread. But when we were kids, it was always red velvet cupcakes."

Amaya ordered one of each.

"They're for him? The king?"

Amaya nodded.

"Would you... tell him that I wish him and his wife a happy anniversary?"

"Were you not invited to the party?"

She shook her head. "Calnan had a... bit of a falling out with the family. We don't speak anymore."

After enjoying a bit of a second breakfast or brunch, Amaya decided to deliver everything back to Emori and Confidence in the infirmary. The other three went looking for a toy shop in town, and bought toys for Calnan's children. Their reasoning was that their father would have much more trouble killing the party if his children liked them.

Upon delivery, the children were ecstatic. The party discovered that Calnan had five children: twin sons, and three daughters. Louisa was the eldest and the crown princess. Claudia, Amaya, and Emori had met Alistair this morning on the way to the infirmary, and now his twin brother, Alexander. Then Celeste and Pippa were the youngest. The children were overjoyed and excited about their new toys, and Louisa thanked the party very much for their generosity.

~~~~~

Confidence Milton
but when he looks much
better
(Art made by me, using
Heroforge)

Back in the infirmary, Emori was trying her best to speak to Confidence - to try and ease his mind. They spoke telepathically. Mostly, he seemed to be in pain and confused, but he was also very lonely. At first, he didn't seem to know who Emori was but he was so glad to have her with him. 

He called her by her name once, even though she hadn't told him. It was the first time he'd ever truly recognized her.

She gave him water, and a piece of a croissant dipped in strawberry jam when Amaya came back from the bakery.

Amaya told Emori, "His daughter Venus loves strawberries. He told us that once."

Emori also recalled their seventh world, where he was a pop star. He'd written a song about a girl named "Venus" (though he didn't know who that was; he claimed to have made her up.) Venus was described as someone who loved strawberries, and smelled like them too.

When he ate the croissant, he managed to swallow it. Looking at him, if he had eyes or tear ducts, Amaya and Emori guessed that he would have been crying. All he could say was that he'd fucked up so badly, and he thought that he'd broken it.

Emori refused to leave him. She stayed in the infirmary with him, holding his hand.

~~~~~

That night, Calnan found Amaya, and the two of them went on the walk he'd promised her. They ended up outside, in a garden filled with white roses.

King Calnan Everhart
Gnome Oath of the
Crown Paladin
Former Transmigrator,
Amaya's former party
member
(Art made by me, using
Heroforge)

"Didn't you say that white roses were Felicity's favorite?" Amaya remembered.

"Yes. Do you remember the bouquet of them I'd received from the huntresses of Artemis? In our sixth world?" He gestured to the flowers. "All of these are grown from clippings from that bouquet."

Along their walk, they spoke of quite a few things:

- They recalled good memories they had in worlds together.

- Amaya asked what happened between him and his family. Calnan had always had a rocky relationship with his brother, Kerrick, but he adored his sisters, as far as she knew. He admitted, "After my parents died, I... didn't really care. I wasn't well, I didn't know how to grieve properly because... how can you grieve knowing that our lives in this multiverse matter so little in the end? My family wasn't pleased with my reaction. My other sisters left home, Kerrick hated me more than ever... Cassandra runs the bakery and I don't see them."

- At the end of that discussion, Amaya threatened to kidnap him and take him to Cassandra herself, to which he wished her good luck.

- Amaya admitted that now Calnan was the only person she had left in the world who could still even remotely care about her.

- Calnan added that this new party was here now, but she dismissed him, saying, "They have each other."

- Amaya believed that there was some part of Calnan - the Calnan she knew buried deep inside him. He insisted that there wasn't, but she couldn't (or maybe didn't want to) believe that.

- Calnan confessed that in this fight against him, he wanted them to win. He wanted Amaya to have her second chance. He wouldn't go easy on them, but he'd give them multiple chances.

- Amaya scoffed, "What am I supposed to get out of a second chance, Cal? I'm not going to get what I want anymore." And he answered, "You'll have the opportunity to find some other happiness, which is more than you'll get wandering a white void. You can get that if you quit too." 

- Amaya insisted, "I don't want to kill you, Cal..." To which he replied, "Then get me to yield. It'll be a bit harder, but you won't have to kill me that way."

- "I want you to win," he said, "because I want you and them to be the ones to end it for me. Because they're good people. Better than we ever were."

At the end of the night, he walked Amaya back to where she was staying with the others, and wished her a very brief goodnight.

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://www.reddit.com/r/characterdrawing/comments/ai9bnz/oc_my_gnome_fritz_was_in_need_of_some_full_body/?st=JR6ECXEO&sh=7e52ea2f

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Credit to @bandcat5313, for the creation of the character: Venus Milton. Thank you to her as well for joining us on this leg of the campaign with her character: Amaya.

TPW Summary: Act III, Scene v - Sessions 7 & 8

Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election

Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras.

Setting: The city of Jarna, capital of the kingdom of Saspar. Very briefly: the port city of Sevord in the kingdom of Stovald, across the Northwest Sea.

After receiving Nytra's mysterious gift, Sylyeras contacted his ship, and asked if they could make haste to the port of Delasta in Saspar. It'd take them 3 days from where they were in the Xanden Sea to the west, but it was possible. Sylyeras knew that Harry needed to leave as soon as possible at this point, as much as it broke his heart to admit it.

Puck
Satyr, Archfey Warlock of
The Green Lord
(Art by phil-cho on
DeviantArt)

Finn returned the next morning with a satyr friend of his from the Feywild that the party had met before: Puck. He knew his way around many plants, which could prove useful if the party intended on making some kind of antidote to the poison that the Dusk was using. 

He was able to completely replicate samples of these plants. He informed the party that he'd have no clue how to go about making an antidote. A poisoner would though, especially one who was familiar with these plants and methods, but really anyone would do.

"Do we have any poisoners we trust?" Nytra asked Finn.

Finn shook his head. "It's a bit difficult to find a trustworthy poisoner, and I don't have many connections to those types of people."

With samples that Puck enchanted to last, they at least had somewhere to start.

Ego LaFontaine
Gnome Arcane Trickster / Wizard
Lieutenant of The Dusk
Candidate for Grandmaster of
Saspar
(Art by Mike Peterson)

This next day brought Pharius's first match against Razura Montague: a half-orc artificer. With the help of the scroll of Heat Metal the party had given him and the training he'd received from them, he won pretty handily. Unfortunately, the Dusk's candidate, Ego LaFontaine, also won his next match. Finn had been waiting to hear from the retiring grandmaster and his former party member, Simon, about Ego's status in the election. He was a cultist; the party was hoping that the bureaucracy would win out. Only Nytra and Athena went to the duels. Sylyeras opted to stay at the house with Harry, just in case.

During the series of matches, the party noted that they were being watched. Five people in generic adventuring gear were nearby, taking note of them. Through telepathy, they made a plan to exit quietly, split up, and then try to either find somewhere else to stay or make their way back to the house without being caught.

Athena managed to duck into a store and make some excuse about an ex-boyfriend following her. The shopkeeper was more than happy to help her sneak out the back, and she managed to lose her pursuers.

Nytra didn't appear to be being pursued at all. One of the duelists had caught her attention: Kelryn Sequestriel, a drow swarmkeeper ranger with a swarm of spiders. He also appeared to have caught the attention of several people who'd seen the duels. Nytra found a like-minded fan, an elf named Rowan who was a student at the Premiere Academy, and the two of them set up plans for a good night together. Nytra even went to find drinks before hand, and also came across Kelryn. It took some convincing, but she also managed to convince him to join her and Rowan that night.

~~~~~

Pharius Veladorn
Drow War Mage Wizard
Odette's Father & Candidate
for Grandmaster of Saspar
(Art by Shinyno on Tumblr)

In the morning, the group had reconvened back together for breakfast. Pharius had even joined them, to give them updates on the tournament. His only match today was against Northina Selezi, a half-elven bard. Nytra would meet up with Pharius's girlfriend, Minnie, and the two of them would make sure the tournament ran smoothly.

The party wanted to check on the status of Ego being in the election, and would send Finn and Sylyeras to do so. Both of them had been present when the Dusk killed many Midtian nobles and three royals. Sylyeras had even fought Ego briefly alongside Boris before he escaped. Athena would take care of Harry while Sylyeras was gone.

Sylyeras was introduced to Grandmaster Qlark, an owl-like aarakocra. He was the retiring grandmaster, and seemed to know Finn fairly well. The updates he'd given about Ego weren't promising though.

"He's a Sasparian citizen, and he's being backed by two very powerful families here in Jarna," Qlark explained. "One of them is even the founders of the Sasparian Star. I can get you the names of the backers and you can talk to them if you want."

They both agreed to that, and then Sylyeras asked, "How much would a witness testimony hold up? I've fought this guy; I saw what he did in Midtia."

"Well, one testimony could be falsified... but several might prove a better case. And, of course, hard evidence will never hurt either."

With that information, and with Finn unable to use his fast methods of communication, it was thought that using Puck as a teleportation guide could be helpful. If Finn could collect testimonies from Midtians and bring them back, it could help a lot.

Sylyeras also asked Qlark if he could peruse his library. The grandmaster agreed, as long as Sylyeras didn't take any books without asking first.

- He looked for anything regarding Eldath, the goddess of peace, hoping to learn more about her. However, it seemed the grandmaster's library was more focused on the arcane sects of magic, rather than the divine.

- Sylyeras also looked for books about Cthulhu and his "kin." He'd done research like this before, but now he had a special interest in seeing if anyone else had ever been possessed as he was now. He found nothing that he didn't already know, and a short book of accounts of encounters with Old Ones. Flipping through that, he didn't find much in the way of knowledge or comfort. Just more affirmations that he might go insane if this keeps up.

- He also stumbled across a book called Piracy Through the Ages: 7th edition by Cornelius Robuston. The book was a history of the pirate lords, with the most recent addition being Captain Astra: Ariel's former captain.

- When Sylyeras asked Qlark about this book, he said that Cornelius was actually a good friend of his. He'd been writing about pirates for decades. He was out now actually, working on the newest edition of his book.

- Upon request, Syl was able to take the book back to the house with him. 

~~~~~

Horace Undersong
Halfling Celestial Warlock
Candidate for Grandmaster
of Saspar
(Art by d-torres on Deviant
Art)

Meanwhile, Nytra and Minnie watched as Pharius won his second match. Ego's match was after his, and he was up against Horace Undersong, one of the more popular candidates. He was a halfling warlock. The two of them fought and it was very close, but then...

Ego lost.

Minnie, knowing the situation with the Duck, was shocked. "He's not going to make the top eight..." 

Nytra was immediately worried. "If he's not going to make the top eight this way... then he's going to find a way."

The two of them went immediately to Pharius. Luckily, he was alright and recovering from his match. He was concerned, however, about Northina Selezi - his opponent.

"She still hasn't woken up. I didn't think I hurt her that badly..."

Unfortunately, Pharius couldn't go back to the house with Nytra and the others. He was going to dinner with his family, celebrating that he'd gotten into the top eight. Pharius was able to get a message to Athena and Finn, telling them what had happened.

Harry
Human Death Cleric of Bhaal
Former lieutenant of
The Dusk
(Art by AnnaHelme on
DeviantArt)

Around that same time, it seemed that Harry had received a message from The Dusk via Sending. Up to this point, he'd been lying and covering for where he was. Now though, he didn't know how to answer when Ego chewed him out for not being there to help him win. He looked to Athena, terrified and unsure of what to do. He was so sure he was in danger. Athena also made sure to contact Sylyeras and Finn.

Everyone went back to the house. Pharius had assured Nytra that he'd use Arcane Recovery to get some spells back, so he could contact the party if needed. Much to Sylyeras's dismay, it seemed like the best course of action was to try and get Harry out of Jarna as soon as possible. Athena contacted Puck, and he arrived shortly. He couldn't take Harry to Zenika, but he could take him to the city of Sevord, across the sea. It'd take Sylyeras's ship about the same amount of time to get there; they'd just have to adjust course south. Sylyeras would go too. At this point, they were a day and a half through their journey. Another thirty to forty hours, and Harry would be on Sylyeras's boat. Safe, or as safe as he could be anyway.

Puck teleported Sylyeras and Harry to a cozy cottage in Sevord. Once there, he put up a couple wards to keep them safe.

Harry admitted, "I'm worried that you came, because I don't want you caught up in this... but thank you. Because I don't think I want to be alone right now."

Sylyeras also made sure, while he was out in Jarna with Finn, to grab more diamond dust and a pair of Sending Stones for them. Harry was ready to go when the pirates arrived.

~~~~~

Back in Jarna, Nytra, Athena, and Finn discussed their next move. They also roped in Finn's friend, Simon, for an extra pair of eyes and ears. Finn got his hands on a copy of the afternoon paper, which displayed the top eight who were sure to move to the next phase of the election. Now, the tournament was all about boosting popularity, rather than winning to move on. There was a scoring system in all this as well. So far, the leaderboard was promising:

1. Pharius Veladorn (War Mage Wizard): 32.9

2. Horace Undersong (Celestial Warlock): 32.8

3. Tide Graynil (Aberrant Mind Sorcerer): 32.3

3. Kelryn Sequestriel (Swarmkeeper Ranger): 32.3

5. Divia Vakume (Echo Knight Fighter): 31.6

6. Arcana Isoldune (Clockwork Soul Sorcerer): 31.2

7. Amarius Mallory (College of Eloquence Bard): 30.8

8. Northina Selezi (College of Lore Bard): 30.2

9. Ego LaFontaine (Illusion Wizard): 30.0

With Ego in ninth, all he'd have to do is eliminate someone in the top eight. The party reasoned that the two at the bottom were the most susceptible. Unfortunately, Northina's condition had also made the front page; she still hadn't woken up after her match with Pharius. The party wondered what would happen if Northina died. It wouldn't look good for Pharius at all.

Northina Selezi
Half-Elf College of Lore Bard
Candidate for Grandmaster of Saspar
(Art by @gigi_avila on Twitter)

Amarius Mallory
Tiefling College of Eloquence Bard
Candidate for Grandmaster of Saspar
(Art by Ernesto Irawan on Art Station)

Nytra and Simon went to the Mallory household, and claimed to be there for security purposes. They were admitted in, and assured Amarius that right now, it was more for precaution than anything. 

Athena and Finn had to fight their way through reporters to get to Northina, who was with her grandmother at the moment. The poor woman definitely seemed worried about her granddaughter but Athena could tell there was more to it than that. Athena attempted Greater Restoration, which seemed to help Northina immensely. Athena determined that she'd likely been cursed. Now, however, she was cured.

Athena and Finn escorted her and her grandmother back to their home, explaining the security concern. They were also allowed into their home for the night, just in case.

Northina even asked Athena, briefly, about Odette, if she was her daughter. Athena simply nodded, and left it at that.

In their respective houses, Nytra and Athena set up watches with their Chroma Conqueror companions. The night had been suspiciously quiet.

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://www.deviantart.com/phil-cho/art/Pan-NeOlympus-commission-696338054

https://studio12point.blogspot.com/2019/07/d-character-art-halfling-rogue.html?spref=pi

https://shinyno.tumblr.com/post/168555192674/commission-for-stelera-of-their-dd-oc-cropped

https://www.deviantart.com/d-torres/art/Rayet-the-Blue-435076910

https://www.deviantart.com/annahelme/art/Rikko-858753094

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/noe9E

https://twitter.com/gigi_avila/status/1275117539534782464

MMC Summary: Session 23 - "I Don't Want a War..."

Present Party: Lupan, Nana, and Wren.

Setting: The city of Lanti, in the kingdom of Midtia. Briefly, the Summer Court of Alfheim.

Royal Custodian Castilian
Nana's Eidolon
(Art by Danila Kalinin on Art
Station)

Castilian, Nana's eidolon, spends most of his time looking after the prince while the party is away. During this time, he's watched Fang interact with the gentlemen from Aincour staying at the Cromdor Estate, and with Sebastian Mulcaster.

In the afternoon, before the arrival of the queen, Castilian noticed Fang sneaking around with Sebastian and attempted to follow. When Fang noticed his protector doing so, however, he sent him on an errand to fetch a pair of black gloves from his room. No such gloves existed. Castilian stayed and kept looking, but didn't find anything. When the prince returned to him, he told Castilian that he was sorry, and he must have forgotten the gloves at home.

~~~~~

After Dancer, the small taskforged the party found on the abandoned ship, had been given her check-up and put back into working order, Nana received a check-up from Liam the artificer as well.

Liam
Human, Artificer
Associate of Veers
(Art by NoFlutter on
DeviantArt)

He was surprised to find that Nana was also a Stonebridge Model - a taskforged made by Stacie Stonebridge, the inventor of the race. She was likely one of the first taskforged ever made. Despite that though, she was in great condition and he wasn't worried about her being unable to to replace any parts of hers that would break.

"That's a very fortunate thing," he told her. "Some parts can be really hard to come by these days, and there are so many taskforged and warforged who... just can't be repaired after a point."

Nana also asked about potential body modifications. Liam explained that it was certainly possible, but she'd need tools, parts, and time. Using Detect Thoughts, Nana was able to get some quick instruction from Liam. She'd definitely have to start working on it physically to gain proficiency, but it wouldn't be impossible.

A couple of hours later, the party had a private meeting with the royal family, where King River was caught completely up to speed on everything, except for the faking of Keviks's death. The party was a little confused as to why River had opted to take Riot Guard Captain Eli Hawks with him on his journey here, knowing he may be a traitor.

River admitted, "I'd rather have him here, with me, while my sons and mother are alone in the capital."

He also claimed to know that Ego was in the kingdom of Isverden to the southeast, but Prince Fang and the other party members assured him that they knew otherwise. He was still in the capital, but they didn't say how they'd come across this information. Fang convinced his parents to trust him and the Selection party, for the time being.

The party also inquired what the plan was, when it came to meeting with the officials from Erdia about what had happened.

River answered, "It's hard to know right now. We don't know what their defense is. All I know is that, from what I was told, we're the victims and you were all framed to appear as though you were responsible for killing this general and knight. We need to hear their side of the story before any drastic choices are made."

Veers
Changeling Warlock
Works for Hugo DeMarco
(Art by Claparo-Sans on
DeviantArt)

During this conversation, Nana used Detect Magic, and noted something strange outside the door. Lupan turned into a mouse to squeeze under and investigate. He found Veers, standing outside. When he transformed back into himself, Veers didn't seem particularly surprised. When asked what he was doing, he claimed to be doing his job: security. He was "just passing through."

Nana cast Sending and asked him to speak his reply as well as reply telepathically. Eli had brought a changeling Riot Guard member with him as well, who Veers had told them not to trust. However, it appeared this person was the real Veers. The party left him to his devices, and when they finished the meeting, he was gone.

Sebastian Mulcaster
Human, age 18
Wren's younger brother
(Art by Charlie Bowater)

The party settled in for bed not long after that. That night, through the open windows, Wren could hear singing. She looked out and then up to find her brother Sebastian, lying on the roof. She joined him. Sebastian was incredibly happy, and singing a song about love and finding someone who helps you see the world and yourself better.

Wren was once again floored, when she realized her brother had written that song in only a few hours. He asked her if she was going to come to his concert a few days from now, and she said she’d do her utmost to be there.

“Nobody has ever come to one of my concerts,” he told her. “No one of our family, anyway…”

Sebastian was the fourth of four children. Orion had his duties as heir to the family. Cassandra was in the Selection and had been preparing for it her whole life. Wren had received attention from their parents because of her musical talent and general rambunctiousness. They encouraged her to pursue music. But, as Wren knew, Sebastian’s accomplishments often went unrecognized; his praises were unsung. He, too, was a talented musician and composer… but he didn’t cause trouble. Wren assured her brother that he had gifts worth being proud of.

“Out of everyone in our family… Wren, you’re definitely my biggest cheerleader. Thank you for that.”

~~~~~

The next morning brought the first of the five-day festival: Dragons’ Day. This festival was held annually to celebrate the end of the Dragon War two hundred and fifty years ago. It was during this war that the Dragon Lancers defeated most of the chromatic dragons that had been plaguing this continent. Each day was named for a different Dragon Lancer. Prince Fang also very excitedly accompanied the party out today, as he'd never experienced Dragons' Day before, outside of the noble party that was typically held on the fourth day.

On Variel’s Day, the party enjoyed watching a jousting tournament, and they partook in some festival games. They’d won small constructs: little ants that could form themselves into small structures.

The next day was Dharvas’s Day and that day featured a magic duel. Both Wren and Nana decided to join the tournament and found that both Finch and Veers were also in it. Nana had a match against Veers which, after a long bout, he conceded. It was during this match that she discovered he was a warlock. Wren had a match with Finch and theirs was more of a struggle between his ability to cause great fear, and her ability to charm her opponents. After another close duel, Wren emerged victorious.

Finnegan "Finch" Pomeroy
Human, age 22
College of Whispers Bard
(Art by Claparo-Sans on
DeviantArt)

Afterwards, she’d confront Finch about it and his use of his Words of Terror feature before the match started, which should have been against the rules of the tournament in her mind. He claimed that it wasn’t magic.

“I’m just really good at making people paranoid.”

Again, as much as they had fun, they insisted on having dinner and seeing a show together sometime.

That same day, there was also a huge street brawl. Thirty men go into a ring with weapons and one comes out victorious. Lupan was extremely curious and excited by this prospect, so he joined in as well. Getting ready, he noticed a maroon tiefling gentleman across the ring. He was dressed in blue scale mail and had long, black hair and large horns. Lupan attempted to get his attention and challenge him. The tiefling took that challenge in stride. When the whistle sounded to start, the two of them rushed each other. They did introductions mid-battle. The tiefling called himself Confidence Milton.

Sir Confidence Milton
Tiefling Eldritch Knight of
Midita
(Art made by me, using
Heroforge)

What followed was an excellent brawl, leaving only Lupan and Confidence, nearly at their ends. Lupan made the decision to grab Confidence's hand and hold both of their hands high, in a show of solidarity. The crowd watching the brawl seemed quite content with this ending. Confidence took the whole party out for drinks, where they were reminded that they'd heard of him before. Wren recalled that he was on the guest list for Orion's engagement party; he was a knight of the royal crown. Prince Fang had also met him before; he'd been present at Confidence's knighting ceremony. Confidence Milton had also trained Fang's cousin Flower, who lived in Dragon's Valley for a short time. The party was pleased to inform Confidence that she'd be continuing her training under the paladins of Heimdall, and he was pleased to hear that.

~~~~~

Festivities couldn't last forever. On the third day of the festival, the party was a bit preoccupied with other, political things. Today was the day the Erdians had arrived in Lanti, and the day they were due to meet with Erdia's Great Leader Draxon Turnuroth at the Mulcaster Estate.

Orion Mulcaster
Human, age 25
Wren's older brother
(Art by Tina Yeh on Art
Station)

Baron and Orion Mulcaster would be in attendance at this meeting. When Orion came downstairs after getting dressed, it was clear that he wasn't well. Wren took him outside so he could calm down before all this. The Mulcasters had a beautiful back garden, with a pavilion hidden among large flowering hedges. That was where they stayed for the time being.

"This is the last time you'll ever have to talk about it," Wren assured him.

He admitted that things were starting to finally feel like they were behind him, but that he hadn't slept the night before. He could still hear Vekea in the back of his mind.

"I know... but Orion, know that if you ever need me to be the bad influence so you can get away - so you can be better - I'll be that bad influence."

They went back in for the meeting. The Midtian side of the table consisted of our Selection party, the royal family, Reverence Akira the war strategist, Alyphira Elona the chief diplomat, Baron Mulcaster, and Orion Mulcaster. The Erdian party arrived shortly after:

- Two knights of the same order as Vekea - an aarakocra and a tiefling - were in attendance.

- A man who appeared human with long red hair was introduced as Pavel Keenstalker, Nithea's husband and Vekea's father.

- A dragonborn man with black scales, a half-orc woman, and a halfling woman were also there, appearing to be a group of diplomats.

- A taskforged with buttons on their chest and arms. They acted almost like a typewriter, and they were referred to as "Record."

- Lord and Lady Sultasar were also present, much to the dismay of Lupan and the Mulcasters specifically.

Great Leader Draxon Turnuroth
of Erdia
(Art made by me, using Heroforge)

The last person to enter was the biggest red dragonborn the party had ever seen. He ducked to enter the room, as Castilian frequently had to. He was dressed in robes of purple and white, and he carried a massive greatsword with him. His scales were the brightest red the party had seen on a dragonborn. Two wings extended from his back. He took a seat at the head of the table, opposite River.

"King River, thank you for your invitation into your kingdom. Baron Mulcaster, thank you for the use of your home as our meeting place."

There were a few major points discussed at this meeting:

- When the party brought up Xade, Turnuroth asked Record the taskforged to find anyone by that name or his alias, Xavier O'Malley, in the Erdian army. There were no records of him.

- With this information, Turnuroth declared that should he be found, Midtia can do to him what they deem fit, especially considering that he was responsible for shooting Prince Fang.

- Turnuroth claimed that the Keenstalkers had acted of their own volition. He and the Sultasars who sponsored them had no knowledge of what they were planning, and what they had done could be considered treasonous. Turnuroth even threw a passive aggressive insult at Pavel Keenstalker, apparently suspecting him of knowing something as well. Turnuroth said he would deal with it later.

- Lord Sultasar was still demanding the dowry he'd paid on Vekea Keenstalker's behalf from the Mulcasters. Baron Mulcaster was quick to shoot down the idea, on the account of the fact that money had already been stolen from them. They were victims in this. Sultasar's poor judge of character had been his flaw.

- Instead, Sultasar proposed something that he viewed as a compromise: he had a daughter who he would betroth to Sebastian Mulcaster. They'd be married in a year's time, and Sebastian would move with them to Erdia.

- Lupan was most vocal here, reiterating that the Mulcasters shouldn't give anything to the Sultasars based on their own poor decision making. River and Fang had both come to Lupan's defense and support. 

- Turnuroth shut Sultasar down shortly after that.

- At the end of the day, neither country really had anything to offer the other. Keviks was dead already, and he'd been considered the one responsible for everything except the prince's attack. Nithea and Vekea were also dead, and there was nothing that could be done to punish them further for their crimes. Instead, as a compromise, Turnuroth offered something of an ambassador program, which was tweaked slightly over the course of the meeting. Eventually, the terms worked out as such:

- Two ambassadors of each kingdom would live in the two largest cities of the other. These ambassadors would be treated with the utmost respect, as though they were noble families of that country: invited to functions, political meetings, etc. They also received full diplomatic immunity.

- These ambassadors would be appointed directly by their respective leaders. If leadership changed, the ambassadors may also change.

- They will live on land, provided by the Crown / Government of the nation in which they are living.

- The guards for these ambassadors will be hired adventurers from Hero's Way or another adventuring guild. This guild must be approved by the respective Crown / Government.

With these terms in place, the Erdians took their leave without fanfare. For once, it seemed as though the party could breathe a little easier.

~~~~~

Crown Prince Steel "Fang"
of the Mountain
Tabaxi, age 18
(CUSTOM ART by @WtfdoIdraw
on Twitter) 

That evening, Castilian was once again watching over Prince Fang. After the meeting, he'd scurried back to the Cromdor Estate as quickly as he could. He knocked on Sebastian's bedroom door.

Fang looked at Castilian. "Castilian, could you do me a favor?"

"Your Highness, you need not send me on needless errands. If you wish to be alone, I-"

"No, no... just..."

The door opened, and Sebastian was standing there. "Fang? Is the meeting over?"

"Yes, it is." Fang turned again to Castilian. "Just... Castilian, please don't tell Nana."

Fang pulled Sebastian in for a kiss. Castilian gently pushed the prince into the room, and shut the door quickly behind him.

~~~~~

Lupan woke from his rest that night to find himself in a strange place. It was bright and warm. His bed was not his at the Cromdor Estate, and he had a beautiful woman with him. She was fully nude, had dark skin, freckles across her face, curly blonde hair, and golden eyes. She looked at him fondly.

"Well... judging from the fact that I'm not at the estate, I'll take it that I haven't taken you home with me from Lanti."

She chuckled. "No... No, you're dreaming. I'm the Summer Queen... and I'm here to see you about the next phase of your little... test. You see... I'm giving you a little hint to help you find something that will help you in my trial. When you find the item, you'll know what it is when you see it. No matter what anyone says, it rightfully belongs to you."

She gave him a deadline: the summer solstice, which was still two months away. If he found it sooner, she'd know, and she'd appear to him early. If he didn't find it, he'd have to brave his trial without it.

Lupan thanked her for the information, and opted to stay asleep for a bit longer than the four hours required for elves... as long as it meant he spent those hours with her.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lxnKoV

https://www.deviantart.com/noflutter/art/Steampunk-Han-Solo-678695197

https://www.deviantart.com/claparo-sans/art/Punk-789871089

https://www.instagram.com/charliebowater/

https://www.deviantart.com/claparo-sans/art/Edricane-547043882

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4blGw4

https://twitter.com/wtfdoidraw

Campaign Concept: Fate Versus Fortune

What Are We Making?

It's been a long time since I've done one of these! I'm so glad to be out of school and back into the swing of writing these kinds of concepts. 

This idea is a bit of an odd one for a fantasy-based campaign, but it definitely works, and I also think it has a great aesthetic. While it can be a campaign on its own, some DMs may want to use it as a short quest or even a dungeon. It works either way!

Today, I want to talk about a campaign concept that centers around gambling, luck, and changing fate. This is the type of game that relies heavily on cunning, and perhaps even cheating to tip the scales in your favor. Everything about this leads up to the players confronting one of two creatures as their BBEG: a being of luck or chaos, or a being of death or fate. They'll do so by collecting cards of an unplayed poker hand.

The Setting & Background Info

In my mind, the general setting isn't super important. This kind of game can be played in nearly any setting, as long as your setting has a gambling card game attached to it that has players holding a multiple card hand. It could be something like poker or rummy, it could include a board component like cribbage, or it could be a completely different game that you make up yourself. I'd recommend that a hand of cards consists of anywhere between three to seven cards out of a standard 52-card deck. That makes planning what the cards look like much easier.

Additionally, your setting should have this lore component to it: someone cheated Fate or Death. I use capital letters for those because, in this setting, those ideas a represented by creatures, usually gods in a fantasy setting. The idea is that some mortal challenged one of these two creatures to a game of cards. If the mortal won, they were unable to die or they were outside of the influence of fate. If they lost, they gave up their immortal soul. When it came time to play their hands, the god went first, and it was clear they were going to win. Instead of playing their hand so the game could end, the mortal took their cards and escaped. Because of this, they've gained immense power; nobody has ever managed to cheat Death or Fate before. As the DM, you can choose what kind of power this is, but here are some thoughts to get you started:

- Celestial. In doing this, the mortal has become the literal god of fortune and gambling. It was probably another, more powerful god that granted the mortal this gift, perhaps even an evil one.

- Fiend. What the mortal has done is outside of the natural order of these divine beings. It would make sense that they'd become the exact opposite of a divinity for cheating them out of what they rightfully won.

- Undead. If you bet your immortal soul, and you haven't given it up just yet, can you still die? Or are you forced to hold on to it until your cards are played? In my opinion, the latter makes more sense and makes for a better story. This creature is nearly lich-like, without the restraint of a phylactery. Their cards are the closest thing they have.

Having all the cards in one place would be detrimental. All a group of intrepid adventurers would have to do is kill this mortal-turned-immortal and take the cards to go and play them (wherever they'd have to go to do that.) Instead, scatter them all over the world.

The Plot

This is where the real fun begins. For the sake of ease, I'm going to call our mortal-turned-immortal "Luck" when I refer to them. The general idea I had for the overarching plot is that the players travel from place to place, collecting these cards. The goal is to get them to the table where the game was originally played, and then play the cards on Luck's behalf. Why the players are involved with Luck is really up to the DM. Some potential plot hooks include:

- Players enduring a loss early in the campaign against Luck. For example, Luck is producing a series of bad luck on a town, and the players are unable to stop them. Knowing Luck plans to do this everywhere, they go looking for the cards.

- Players are selected for a secret mission from a cult, faith, or faction that reveres the god of Fate or Death. This group, whatever they may be, want to appease their god by killing Luck and they've hired the adventurers to do it.

- Each of the players (especially if they have tragic backstories) could have also discovered that Luck was involved in that / a tragedy in some way. Luck was altering fate even further in that way because that has become their new purpose.

Along their way, in their journey to find these cards, they encounter Luck or perhaps other creatures that work for them who may be guarding the cards. Maybe other mortals have the cards because they bring good fortune, and they know that they're magical so they keep them. Those types of people would also have a very good reason not to let go of their cards.

Then there comes this point: who's the villain of this story, truly? As easy as it is to say that Luck is, the DM can also decide that Luck has done nothing wrong. In fact, it can be argued that Luck should be rewarded for their cleverness and allowed to live. The DM can also decide that Luck is not inherently evil, based on the kind of creature they'd become. Not all undead or celestials are necessarily evil. If you want Luck to be the evil one here, then making them a fiend or other inherently evil creature would probably be your best bet.

Perhaps the true villain of the story is the other half: Death or Fate. A being of death is a bit harder to do though, because if a party manages to kill Death... then what happens? Can things continue to die? Fate might be an easier opponent for Luck and the party in that case. If you kill Fate, all that means is that people's fates are now in their own hands. That makes for a very empowering story. Maybe as the players collect cards and talk to Luck, they realize that they're not doing anything wrong. They're just giving others the power to choose. Instead of playing the hand, they help Luck cheat Fate a second time.

Either way, it makes for an interesting choice at the end of the game, and it comes down to a line I'll steal from the Pixar film Brave: if you had the chance to change your fate, would you? Is changing fate, the natural law of what should happen in the universe, actually a good thing?

WSS Summary: World 10, The King's Demise - Session 1

CW / TW: Description of severe injuries and sickness due to an unknown cause.

This section will be written in blue text, so you can skip it easily if you would like.

~~~~~

Present Party: Aria, Claudia, Emori, Harmony, and Steve. In addition, this party has a guest player. This player's character is Amaya, an air genasi grave domain cleric.

Setting: An old western European style city, called Meloire, capital of the kingdom Vesperion. The party spends most of the session at the royal palace.

Amaya had been wandering the System Space, grieving, for longer than she could ever hope to keep track of. It had given her much time to think, perhaps too much.

She felt someone press their hand against her shoulder, and a calm washed over her. She turned to see Mod, standing there. They told her, "Boss has decided to give you a second chance... but this is your only one. If you fail, you come back here. If you succeed, you can keep going with your contract or you can quit."

"What about Cal and Selsei?" she asked.

"Both were transferred to new teams. Calnan completed his contract."

"Of course he did."

"Selsei has not yet. I have not seen her, and I do not know where she is."

Although this concerned Amaya, there wasn't much she could do about it now. She accepted the offer for the second chance... even though what she had once wanted was now obsolete.

~~~~~

The party found themselves in their tenth world: a city similar in style to the old villages of western Europe. People were dancing in the streets and throwing flowers, celebrating. Purple banners hung from windows, displaying three golden fleur de lises in a triangle with a white rose in the middle of them. All of them were dressed very opulently in ballgowns and suits. It seemed that the majority of the population here were small folk: gnomes or halflings, specifically.

They were surprised to find that they had someone new with them again: an air genasi. Emori, Aria, and Steve had seen this woman once before. They'd met her as she wandered the System Space, crying out for her wife. At the time, she'd been too far into her own mind that she didn't even notice them. They were told that it was better not to ask questions when it came to her, but they learned that her name was Amaya. Now, she was here, in front of them, to their surprise.

The Moderator appeared in front of them, and handed Amaya a piece of cardstock, saying, "I'm sorry, but the boss thinks you're the best one for this."

It was an invitation to the 40th wedding anniversary of the king and queen: Calnan and Felicity Everhart.

The Moderator also told everyone, "You guys reach out to me and my co-workers for help a lot. Honestly, I think it's great and it's always good when transmigrators succeed. But we're all a bit busy at the moment. If you do reach out to us, there's a larger chance we might not answer, but that doesn't mean that we won't at all. If you need it, try."

They disappeared. Amaya suggested they all go to a tavern quickly to talk about why she was here. They also stopped at a tailor, mostly because many of the outfits granted to the party were not to their taste. Once at the tavern, Amaya gave the party a lot of information about herself and their contracts:

- Amaya had been a transmigrator as well. Calnan, the king here, was in her party at one point. Amaya knew that his wish had been to marry the woman he loved: the princess here, who was now the queen.

- The two of them had a major falling out. They'd been in a world for an extended period of time, and Amaya had fallen in love with a tiefling woman named Oath. When they finally found the Shard, at the center of a volcano dungeon, they'd taken Oath too, since she was a capable fighter. The ground beneath them started to give way, Oath had started to fall. Rather than help Amaya pull her up, Calnan ran to collect the Shard. When he did, they left, and Oath fell to her death.

- Their next world hadn't gone well either; their group wasn't working together. Calnan threw Amaya under the bus and blamed her for everything. She was doomed to wander the System Space... until now. She explained that Mod said it was her last chance.

- Amaya told the party more about Calnan in general. He's an Oath of the Crown Paladin. She mentioned that he might feel guilty about what he's done, and that she believed him to be a selfish bastard. He has a dog - a mastiff - named Wrinkles that was gifted to him by Admin. The dog was incredibly dangerous to anyone it perceived as a threat.

- Amaya also explained the importance of wording with the System. The System takes everything very literally, and that includes their wishes. They can ask to see what the System is going to give them, but they shouldn't be surprised to see that it might not be what they expected. They'll get what they wanted literally and / or in the most logical and direct way possible.

- Claudia could also confirm this. She'd already been told how her wish was being interpreted by Hacker, and she was getting what she wanted, but not in the way she wanted it.

Needless to say, that last bit of information was terrifying and a little demotivating. Knowing all this, the party decided to make their way to the ball, and see if they could confront Calnan. If anyone knew where the Shard would be, it might be him. Mod had given them that invitation for a reason, as well. Getting into the castle for the ball was no problem.

King Calnan Everhart
Former Transmigrator
(Art made by me, using
Heroforge)

Atop a small dais in the main ballroom were the king and queen: a gnomish man and a halfling woman. The man had a full brown beard, and shoulder length brown hair. He was dressed in an ornate set of plate armor, and carried a longsword with a purple gem on the pommel. His queen had red hair, up in a bun, and she was wearing a beautiful white gown, adorned with white lace roses. Between the two of them was a black mastiff, bigger than any dog the characters had ever seen. He was nearly the size of a small pony.

Steve was the first to attempt to talk to him, to see if he'd be able to tell if they were transmigrators and see if the rings Mod had given them in their eighth world still had an effect.

"I was just curious," he said to the king. "What breed is your dog there?"

"A mastiff," Calnan replied evenly.

"Never seen one that big."

"Special breeder. He comes and goes."

With no immediate hint that Calnan could tell who they were on their own, they sent Amaya. He was certainly surprised to see her. Calnan's wife, Felicity, asked if she was from The Guild. Calnan said that she was.

"Can we talk?" Amaya requested.

"Yes, and I suggest you bring anyone else you've brought with you."

"You have to do this tonight?" Felicity asked him. "On our anniversary, really?"

"It won't take long," he assured her. "I'll be back in a moment."

The party was led from the room. Claudia and Harmony stayed behind to shoot some additional Messages at the queen, regarding the poor character of her husband. This seemed to fluster and anger her.

When they arrived in a small dining room, Calnan invited them all to sit, where he told them what he knew, and his beliefs regarding the System:

- He knew where the Shard was. In fact, he was in possession of it. He'd be willing to give it up if the party could defeat him in combat. Twelve other groups of transmigrators had come before this one. All of them, thus far, had failed.

- The party asked him why he'd do such a thing, especially because Calnan knew what failure meant. He knew how terrible it was. Amaya and Harmony did too, from past experiences. He claimed that he was protecting what he had. Too many transmigrators had lost what they had to other transmigrators. It was a terrible cycle. Amaya demanded to know why he would perpetuate such a cycle, and Calnan told her he did it for two reasons: he worked to hard to let what he loved go, and he believed transmigrators needed to learn what happened. They needed to know what they were truly working for.

- His only stipulations about the combat or attempts on his life were that his wife and children were left out of it.

- He expressed the same sentiments Amaya did about his wish. His wish had actually led to the deaths of dozens of potential suitors for his wife, leaving only him: the man she loved. He'd never planned for that.

- Calnan very genuinely believed that it was better for transmigrators to quit and go home. If they did, however, he warned them that they would never achieve what it was they wanted. It didn't matter how hard they tried, if they quit, they'd never get it. At least with the System, they would, even if it's not exactly how they perceived it.

- "Free will exists," he reminded them, "and it's not only transmigrators who can mess up your wishes. There is no guarantee that you keep what you want when you get it."

- Calnan also explained the concept of "deletion" and claimed his dog could do it. To "delete" someone meant to erase them from the System's multiverse forever. No one who was not a transmigrator would remember them.

After all of this, Calnan offered for the party to stay in one of the guest suites they had in the palace. He sent someone to escort them there, where the party had a few drinks while they relaxed and attempted to figure out their next move.

Claudia attempted to reach out to Hacker, but received the nameless "Red Void" instead. Unfortunately, Claudia had very little questions for the Red Void, but they gave her one small piece of advice: "Remind your friends that some of them have a graduation present from me. I don't know if they remember they have it, but they do."

Harmony also pulled Amaya aside for a short time, and asked her if she actually got to say goodbye to Oath when she died. Amaya admitted that she did not. Harmony didn't believe that was right, and she cast Modify Memory on Amaya. She granted her a memory where she got the chance to actually sit, where the two of them knew what was going to happen, and where she actually got to tell her wife how much she loved her before they left. Harmony left Amaya to relive this moment and cry tears of joy. When she was ready to rejoin the group, she did so and gave Harmony a hug.

At Emori's request, and with Sending, Amaya also contacted Calnan to see if he knew anything about Confidence Milton, to see if he'd been in this world too.

Calnan replied, "He's here, actually. In my infirmary. He's very ill. I've tried everything, nothing has worked yet."

She also requested diamond dust for Greater Restoration. Calnan said he would give it to her in the morning. He had no reason not to.

~~~~~

That morning, Emori and Amaya went together to see Confidence. On the way, they ran into one of Calnan's sons: a gnomish boy appearing about thirteen. They never got his name, but he was also on his way to see "Sir Milton." He was going to read to him. He claimed that very few people went to see Sir Milton, and he wasn't sure if Sir Milton could hear him reading, but he did it anyway.

When they arrived, the young prince went to go and get breakfast, to see if maybe Confidence would eat. He left Amaya and Emori with him, and he was a sorry sight.

~~ CW BEGINS ~~

Confidence was paler than usual. His eyes were missing, and there was nothing there but two empty sockets. His hair was falling out in places, and he had terrible burn marks on his chest and face. The rest of his body was hidden to them, under the sheet. He was visibly malnourished, and had so little muscle. It was impossible to discern his age too, with the burns and the fact that he looked so impossibly tired. Each breath heaved, and exhaled shakily.

Amaya cast Greater Restoration, and some of the aging washed away. Some of the burns looked a little better. His breathing eased for a moment, but then pinpricks of green light lit up his eye sockets, and he fell back into that raspy breathing again.

~~ CW ENDS ~~

The two of them started to talk again, and Confidence said quietly, "I can hear you..." Emori tried to talk to him, but all he seemed to be able to say was "I can hear you."

They decided it was best to leave him for now. The young prince would be back with breakfast, and maybe eating a little would help improve his condition. 

Amaya asked, "Do you want to go for a walk? Get some air?"

Emori shook her head. "No... let's go back to the others and figure out what we're going to do about all this."

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 as well for joining us on this leg of the campaign with her character: Amaya.