Synopsis
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Fenn explains what's on her mind as she, Juniper, and Amaryllis return to their room in Barren Jewel. She explains that the list of companions in Juniper's game layer remind her of a kharass, a group of people linked by a wampeter (a sort of purpose/theme). Fenn's conclusion is that all three of their number are displaced in one way or another. However, Amaryllis's displacement from her kingdom is something solvable in principle, differing from Fenn's half-elven nature and Juniper's dream-skewering, meaning that her displacement can't be part of the wampeter. For this reason, Fenn acts skeptical about going along with Amaryllis's current goal.
Amaryllis intends to retrieve a cache of entads bound to her bloodline that resides in Caer Laga, a fortress in the middle of the Datura Desert, which is infested with thaum-suckers. Fenn states that the plan is in Amaryllis's favour only. Juniper interrupts to ask about thaum-suckers, and Amaryllis explains that while the monsters make the desert as dangerous as a major exclusion zone, she is confident that the group can make it to the fortess.
Amaryllis is surprised that Fenn, a looter of the Risen Lands, would be so resistant to coming along. Fenn says that she wouldn't have been a looter if she had a choice. Juniper suggests that this is not the real reason Fenn is against going to Caer Laga, and Fenn deflects by changing the subject to the party's teleportation key. Amaryllis explains the value of teleportation keys and answers Juniper's many follow-up questions. The discussion then shifts to the question of how the party can best make use of the priceless entad, and then to Amaryllis explaining what entads are and how they are created to Juniper. She then talks about the quirks of entad ownership, but Juniper catches on quickly because some of the details are mentioned in Amaryllis's biography.
When Amaryllis properly makes her pitch to the other two about going to Caer Laga, Juniper sees a notification—Quest Accepted: Mothballs—and agrees to come along. Fenn asks what's in it for her before accepting, and Amaryllis replies that three of the seven heirlooms she expects to be in the fortress are able to be used by people other than herself. After quibbling about the details of investiture and collateral, Fenn reveals that she was willing to go along to Caer Laga the whole time, and was only being difficult to get more information about everyone else's motives beforehand. The conversation ends with Fenn proposing a visit to a bathhouse and a night of rest.
The next morning, the group leaves. Amaryllis warns Juniper against talking to anyone else and revealing his dream-skewered nature, as he had almost given himself away in the conversation with Magus Bormann. They discuss the problem of hiding the existence of the teleportation key, as the people of Barren Jewel cannot be trusted to not rifle through unattended clothes and belongings. Juniper suggests that he bury it in the sands, but Amaryllis thinks of solving the problem with magic. The group takes a diversion to see a tattoo mage, and they pay for a small tattoo on Amaryllis's upper arm that can hold a small item.
In the meantime, Fenn asks Juniper about his feelings towards Amaryllis, as she is concerned about Juniper and Amaryllis forming a voting bloc that overrides her own decisions about the party's actions. Juniper concedes that her worries are reasonable, but states that he does not think at the moment that he will form a strong bloc with Amaryllis. The conversation yields Juniper a skill increase in Flattery to level 1 and a Loyalty upgrade to level 5 with Fenn.
The tattooist finishes his tattoo. Amaryllis retrieves the teleportation key, wrapped in cloth, and the mage puts the package into the tattoo, instructing her on how to take it out of the tattoo. Her robes cover her upper arm, and with the problem of hiding the key solved, the party is off to the public baths.
Featured charactersEdit
QuotesEdit
“See, I’ve been thinking a bit about us as a trio and what our theme might be, what might unify us. A princess, a looter, and someone with brain damage? There wasn’t that much in common. After a little bit of time though, it occurred to me that we are all displaced in one way or another. You have probably noticed by now that I’m a half-elf, which leaves me between worlds. Juniper thinks he’s an Airthian stuck here on Aerb. And Amaryllis is a princess without a kingdom, a noble among the poor.”
- —Fenn talks about the kharass's wampeter.
“Ah. Some are bound along cognatic primogeniture lines while others are gavelkind. It was in your biography, which I still need to read for you. But I get the gist of it, there are magic items that pass down as heirlooms that you have claim-in-fact to, and some of them are sitting unrecovered in Caer Laga for some reason.”
“Caer Laga was abandoned by my great-grandfather with wards still intact and a cache of heirlooms, primarily because of the cost associated with maintaining it within the Datura. My bloodline gives me the right to pass through the wards with the two of you in tow. There shouldn’t be anything within and we should be able to use the teleportation key to leave, which means that the only risk involved is in passing through the Datura and facing down the thaum-seekers.”
- —Juniper gets the gist of Amaryllis's current goal.
“I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult about this. What is it you propose to do instead?”
“Better for us to get this out now. I’ve traveled with people before, partnered for mutual benefit, and if you go skipping off happily into the sunset then come nightfall things get out of hand. I’m game for going to Caer Laga, so long as we do it with open eyes.”
“You … you were willing to go this entire time?”
“Certainly.”
- —Amaryllis learns how Fenn really feels about going to Caer Laga.
“We seemed to do fine with the bone mage.”
“You almost gave yourself away. Just don’t talk. Any questions you have can be raised later, with us, in private.”
- —Juniper thinks that he did better than in actuality, but Amaryllis clears things up.
“So how in love with her are you?”
“Uh, I’m not.”
“Okay, on a scale from 0-9, how in love with her are you?”
“There are a lot of different ways to divide up love. Physical attraction, emotional attraction, empathy, those sorts of things. I know you think that my mind is clouded because I’m a teenage boy, but --”
“No. I’m worried that I’m about to be the third wheel in this little group we have here. I see how you look at her, and I see how you don’t look at me, even when I’m giving you little lovers’ kisses.”
- —Fenn interrogates a love-struck Juniper.
NotesEdit
Continuity notesEdit
- Fenn insists on pronouncing Earth as "Airth" to get under Juniper's skin, but this becomes less common as the story progresses.
- The tattooist is not named in this chapter, but in chapter 27.
Real-world referencesEdit
- Elvish words such as wampeter and kharass are lifted from Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Cat's Cradle.
