- Grimples strolls into view.
* Image sourced from Google
- Ethan greets the Cat and asks him where he is off to. Grimples explains plainly that he’s out looking for fish. Ethan thumbs a direction back the way that they came and suggests that he can find good fish on Marindar. Ethan has an odd feeling talking to the Cat. He can’t quite place it. Grimples asks him why he has left Marindar if the fish is so good. Ethan says that he left because he had a bad feeling and he doesn’t like waiting to be attacked. He asks Grimples if he’s seen anything on the Stair that might give him a clue. Grimples says no but asks Ethan where he is going. Ethan lies and says that he doesn’t really know. He changes the topic and asks about the audience that he requested with Grimples’ master. Grimples says that he passed on the request but that his master ‘laughed a lot’. He implies that the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik was aware of the battle in the Legendary Realm and that he was unpleasantly surprised by the result. They part ways – Grimples continues on.
- Ethan’s group walks on in silence for a good distance before Ethan asks Macavity about what he thought of Grimples. Macavity says bluntly that the creature that they just met wasn’t the real Grimples or even a real Cat. It didn’t smell right. It’s breath was wrong. Ethan knew that something was wrong by the way that ‘Grimples’ spoke but wasn’t sure what. They leave the Stair and find a nearby Door which has a modern café nearby. The establishment sells bready products which are not quite scones and a lavender-style herbal tea. Abbie asks why they have stopped here and Ethan explains that he’s just sent a creature masquerading as Grimples to Marindar so he needs to warn them what is coming.
- Ethan decides to contact Lady Sophia rather than Grant. She accepts the contact and they have a pleasant conversation. She explains that the Marindan games will be running later in the year – invitations will be extended to many nations and realms. The Dwimmerlaik will also be invited (through Lord Morla, their representative in Marindar). She invites him to attend and compete if he wishes in the ‘Open’ events. There will be medals and laurels given to the victors. She starts to explain the types of events – sport, art, music and even magic. Ethan is quite interested in this. He asks when the games were last run and she confesses that it has not been for over a century, but the Doors have been open for some time now and Lord Grant has agreed to it. Ethan likes the idea based on what he knows of the Olympic games for fostering friendship across nations. He says that he will be there. He then tells Lady Sophia about the creature that is coming to Marindar and she promises to alert the guards.
- At the end of the contact, Ethan talks with Macavity about how he detected so easily that the creature was not the real Grimples. Macavity explains that the scent of the breath was wrong – it was almost as if the creature was hollow. Ethan listens to Macavity’s description and it sounds like the mannikins that Ethan has encountered before. Could they be the threat that is ‘coming’?
- They continue on to Boraelis in order to prepare for the next exchange. Abbie quickly realises where they are and she offers to help. They plan to charter a vessel and go on a vacation after the next exchange. In the days leading up to the next full moon, Ethan, Abbie, Hilda and Macavity spend time together. They go to the market together. They go to see some of the local performances. They enjoy each other’s company. Ethan talks to Abbie about the Marindan games – Abbie is also intrigued by the idea but a little unsure about competing against the athletic Marindans. Hilda encourages her – she wants to watch the games.
- After a while, Ethan contacts Grant and asks him about the mannikin that was impersonating Grimples. Grant tells him that it blew itself up when confronted by Marindan guards – it somehow knew that its cover was blown. They discuss Macavity’s observations and Grant believes that these creatures are branching out. Self-destruction is new. The conversation turns to the Marindan games and Grant encourages Ethan to compete in them. He also says that he’s worried about security and crowd control given that Central isn’t a very big place and he’s expecting many visitors. Finally, Grant mentions that Lady Sophia is assigning him an attaché. Ethan asks him why and Grant explains simply that Ethan is a Lord of Gossamer and if he spends any time on Marindar in the near future, there will be many people wanting to talk to him. Lady Sophia is convinced that Ethan ‘needs staff’. She’s also taking charge of renovations at his house in Marindar – she’s enlarging it. Ethan doesn’t know how to respond to that. He finally offers a weak thank-you and the conversation ends.
- When the moon is nearly full, Ethan finds that the Icon that needs assembly can be used once more to contact the alien intelligence on the other side. It feels very large and reasonably strong. A big, ponderous mind. Simple conversation occurs. Greetings. Questions and answers but the meaning of the answers is unclear. With no clear way of improving the quality of the communication, Ethan promises further contact ‘at the regular time’. (referring to the time of the month when the moon is almost full).
- At the full moon, Abbie and Ethan head out with Tess and Old Sam to exchange the food for the next consignment of ghostly cannonballs. Macavity remains onshore looking after Hilda even though Hilda would very much like to see the ghost pirates. They head out onto the seas. Tess tells Abbie that the weather always changes on the night of the full moon. It is always a cloudy night, but at the right time the clouds part, the full moon is revealed and the ship comes up. Ethan watches the trade and records the spot where the ship came up, marking it with a sorcerous marker.
- Everything goes smoothly. They return to port and the ghostglobes are offloaded. They are stronger when fresh. The Icon is assembled and the warded boxes are sent through. Empty boxes are returned. Ethan uses psychometry on the recently returned boxes and he can tell that the place on the other side is not a hospitable place. The air is not breathable. There is a choking acrid dust there. He’d need his own oxygen supply. There is also a pressure difference.
- At last the job is done and everyone is relieved. Ethan and Abbie walk back to the inn by using the rooftop walks, avoiding the ghostly ‘walkers’ on the street. Abbie thanks Ethan for sharing this with her. They arrive back at Hilda’s bedroom and find her fast asleep with Macavity clutched like a soft toy in her arms. Macavity looks embarrassed but it’s clear that he can’t escape without waking her up. It’s late and they bid each other good night. Both are looking forward to the vacation.
- The next day they leave Harbourtown on board the Serendipity, a two-mast schooner that they have chartered for a pleasure cruise to the Kalimos islands. The vessel is small with a crew of five. Ethan, Abbie, Hilda and Macavity enjoy themselves (Macavity reluctantly accepts that he is having fun on a boat). The waters are warm and they are able to swim and explore nearby reefs. Ethan relaxes onboard – he tries to be himself and enjoy company with his ‘family’. The relationship with Abbie isn’t what it was. They make some progress. Abbie admits that there are many things that are bothering her. She tells Ethan about her homeworld, Meridian, and about a man whom she loved and who was almost certainly killed when the Rhan attacked. Then she met Ethan, quite by accident (GM’s note – see Session 48). She moved on from that but when Ethan undid her world’s destruction and the Rhan attack never happened, he created a new version of Meridian where the man she loved never died and the connection that she made with him was never made. She admits to feeling quite lost and she needs time to work some of this through. She doesn’t know how to feel about anything given that nothing seems to be permanent. Even her ‘survivor’s guilt’ isn’t really valid anymore because the world was never destroyed. And even though Liliana wiped out the Bloodstone army, Ethan somehow brought them back too. Abbie finds it hard to know if this is the real her, or whether Ethan has somehow tampered with her somehow. She knows that he loves her, but she fears him too. His love is so blind that he’d do anything for her. She accepts this but she’s not sure if she wants it. She remarks that Ethan is ‘like a god’, capable of doing anything, and it’s a little intimidating. She knows that Ethan would leave her if she asked him to but she’s not sure what she wants. She asks for time. Ethan listens and agrees to give her time.
- After that conversation, the relationship improves a little. Abbie relaxes. Ethan relaxes. Near the end of the trip, Abbie and Ethan snuggle on deck watching the stars and talk about the future, looking after Hilda and entering the Marindan games. They part as close friends but Ethan is hopeful that it will one day be as it was.
- Returning to Harbourtown, Ethan contacts Archer to find out how things are on the Legendary Isle. There have been some minor disturbances but nothing that Archer has not been able to handle. Hilda goes with Abbie and returns to Lofwyr’s estate, and Macavity goes with Ethan back to the Legendary Isle. Macavity asks Ethan about Abbie. He sounds disappointed that they are not back together. He promises to give Abbie ‘a good talking to’ when he has an opportunity.
- Ethan spends time on the Legendary Isle trying to get a feel for how things are progressing and the challenges. There are definitely some creatures on the island that he didn’t bring here. There are too many instances of shipping disruption which suggest a sea monster. There are a lot more fey here than expected. Ethan starts making plans to properly organize the people here and also bring the other communities from the Legendary Realms who are elsewhere on the Stair to the Legendary Isle. The other odd thing is that the island seems to be growing.
- He also looks through an events calendar for the Marindan games which Lady Sophia sends to him. He is interested in the Decathlon.
- After six days on the Legendary Isle, Ethan receives an Icon contact. It is Isabelle.
* Image by jas-tham on DeviantART
- Ethan is pleased to hear from her. She explains that she’s working on a ‘project’ and she would like Ethan’s help. Ethan agrees immediately to come but says that he needs to get a few things first.
- Leaving Archer in charge, Ethan heads to Westgate to get some things. Macavity is only too glad to leave the Legendary Isle as he has discovered a community of ‘giant rats’ that are much bigger than he is. They head to Westgate to get some tea, a bottle of wine, cheese and food. Some snacks for Macavity. Then Ethan contacts Isabelle via Icon and they head through.
- Isabelle’s workshop is heavily influenced by Eidolon. It is neat and ordered. They sit down to eat the hamper that Ethan has brought. Macavity declares dibs on the fishy treats that Ethan has brought and he moves them a safe distance from the others so that he does not have to share.
- Isabelle explains that she’s building a device which should enable someone to scry on the other side of a Door without opening it. The device is designed to be clamped to a Door on the Stair. She’s developed it to the point where it can scry onto the Stair from her own Realm, but it doesn’t seem to work anywhere else.
- Ethan agrees to help and they have a pleasant time together. They’ve worked many times together in the past and they quickly find a working routine. Ethan has some ideas as to how to achieve the outcome but he offers suggestions and pointers without taking over.
- During their time working together, the topic of the Marindan Games comes up. Isabelle seems interested in attending. She is surprised that Grant has allowed two Dwimmerlaik to remain on Marindar and even invite them to the games. She wonders if Drake knows that they are there. Ethan tells her about the Olympic Games on Earth and how they are friendly games meant to foster fellowship between different nations. He assumes that the Marindan Games will be similar, though he does mention that musical composition and magic are not part of Earth’s Olympic Games.
- Ethan expresses interest in the Decathlon, although he notes that the events are not quite the same as he is used to. He doesn’t expect to win anything but he wants to give it a shot. Isabelle pokes fun at him, pointing out to him that the Marindans are likely to get a bit ‘frisky’ around the time of the Games. She remarks that it’s probably a way of adding some more quality to their gene pool. Ethan chuckles at this and admits that she’s probably right. He admits that Lady Sophia has upgraded his house and he now has ‘staff’. Isabelle laughs hard at this, leaving Ethan a little embarrassed.
- After two days of work, Ethan and Isabelle have a device that is about the size of a hubcap which seems to work. With the main unit still in Isabelle’s domain, the hubcap works as a relay unit, enabling the device to work elsewhere. However, it still operates as a kind of beacon, broadcasting the location of the main unit when in use. It works but it isn’t quite right though. Nevertheless, they decide to celebrate their success over a bottle of wine.
- The topic of conversation turns to the next poker game which is only two days away. Macavity seems bored – he says a brief farewell and decides to go and check on Abbie and Hilda. Ethan shrugs and goes off with Isabelle to find some suitable loot which can be used as a stake in the poker game.
- They have so much fun that they almost lose track of time. But after two days of misses and near misses, they find some interesting trinkets and knick-knacks that can be used.
- The poker game is in the same place as always. Ethan is relieved when Yaeger doesn’t show up. Grant, Cal, Jessamyn, Isabelle and Ethan are there. Eric sneaks away from his post on Nexopolis to join them and there are six players for the evening.
- It is a pleasant evening. Jessamyn and Grant come out slightly ahead but both Ethan and Isabelle have disastrous luck and their stakes are wiped out. This doesn’t seem to bother them – they go out to cheer themselves up and end up in the night market of the Agora listening to pop-up bands and eating food which is vaguely Middle Eastern. They end up dancing a long time, and then relaxing over cups of herbal tea which smells of cinnamon.
- Isabelle asks Ethan to stay with her a while longer to finish her invention. He agrees but says that he needs to check on something back in Westgate. He promises to return soon.
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