Devan broke the tension as he stared at Revelrae by revealing that he believed that the Candidates were all members of his adventuring group that journeyed into the heavens at the Ancient Skies on that fateful day. The group ran through the Candidates they had faced to try to confirm with their newly turned ally. Count Blackrose was, in fact, Yaran, a knight who wore a gold rose on his chestplate in search of a missed love he never reconnected with. Skywalker was the strange Dwarf, Dulin, that spoke of the stars. Resolutia was the siren, Katarina, a storyteller whose Anchor was one of the stories she wrote. Cess, the decaying remains of a person embedded in his minion who spoke in the third person, was the dejected Dwarf Obsidian that lived in the depths of Amanta. And finally, Revelrae, was Marcea, an elven artist that always wanted to sing songs of a heroic adventuring group. Though Revelrae seemed to be in a state of shock and denial, Devan pushed the topic, saying how she could sing any tune, play any instrument, and really can’t remember her life before “Revelrae”. She sat, almost in defeat. She couldn’t argue his points.
Devan continued by saying that each of them must have been imbued with some kind of magic that tied into what they were experiencing at the time, resulting in the corrupted powers they wielded. When asked why some could be turned back while others seemingly could not, Devan’s best guess was that some of his team were more susceptible to corruption than others, causing different speeds. He finished by saying there were still two unaccounted for members of his party, an older gentleman that invented and crafted his weaponry, and a young knight who had been under Amy’s spell at the time. Amy was unsure how to take this news, for she assumed the first person on which she had used her powers had been torn away so easily. She assumed him long dead. She knew not how this would interact with the new life she had carved out.
The party theorized that the older inventor could perhaps be the entity running the airship, and the knight could perhaps be the strange silhouette that gazed upon them as they fled Luxen. Though that left one Anchor, according to Morrithana, unaccounted for. Even though they could continue mulling things over, The Rectifiers decided it was time to return to Amanta. Revelrae added that ships had been left for them to return whenever they finished dealing with Weaver. Before they left, Beckett gifted the group a magical horn. When the horn was blown in open-air, it would alert Beckett that the time drew near for the siege of Luxen. Beckett said when he heard the horn, he would gather his own forces, get the fighters that were sent to Ibolus to battle the goblins, and the shades that had sworn allegiance as well. They would all take the river up to Luxen to join forces. With that, Revelrae saw the party to the docks for their return voyage to the new capital. She remained on the docks, seemingly not coming with them. They waved goodbye, unsure of her thought process, though she put on a smiling face for some young fans that came to say hello.
The group returned to Amanta through the hidden tunnel, finding Sandon and Harin awaiting them in the underground canal. The two escorted them back to the crystal castle in the center of the Dwarvenium. They spotted that the district high above near the Ancient Skies was nearing completion, and they learned a bit about Harin’s brother, who had passed years ago. The group entered the new throne room to find all their allies gathered around a table discussing plans with Harvey, the legal expert Londo had recruited from Triven.
The Rectifiers recapped their allies on what had happened and learned a few bits of news that involved them. Sarin Kor, the Minotaur who was raised by Sariel who had been made a head researcher, had recently discovered something he wished to share with The Rectifiers. Additionally, a “Lord” Efreet, who lived in a castle in the Obsidian Depths of Amanta, had something he wanted to offer The Rectifiers. Harvey added that there was no Efreet in the title listings. The message said that upon arrival to the Depths, a wisp of flame would guide them. Finally, Harvey pushed Zola to broach the topic of the crown. A vote would need to be held with all related parties: the Knight Orders, the Mage Orders, the Councilors, the Kingsguard, and The Rectifiers. Harvey stated that the actual method of vote counting would be decided at the convention, but he had already sent the summons out for the representatives to arrive upon the successful recapture of Luxen, should that happen. He also pointed out that should the capture of Luxen succeed and the Harbinger be stopped, this vote would be the last act of The Rectifiers. They would be disbanded. Zola seemed disinterested in the topic at the time, given more pressing matters.
Before they separated to speak to Sarin Kor, the group asked Zola again about the strange power she seemed to reawaken with the return of her old earrings. She summoned a wisp of the white flame saying she knew not where it came from. She had the power as a child, but lost touch with it over time. The earrings seemed to rekindle that white flame. They asked her if it was an inherited trait, to which she replied that she never knew her blood parents. Since she was a baby, she was raised by parents that were not her true blood. Vint also asked after Revelrae. When told she stayed behind, Vint seemed slightly displeased, more so than his usual demeanor. This began to make the party wary of why she stayed. They left to speak with Sarin Kor.
Inside his research tower, they found the book Sariel had given him, the twin to Saren’s from Audrea’s vision in Weaver’s tower. This one was bound in white leather and had golden runes glowing on the pages, similar to the ones that appeared in Weaver’s realm to help them dispel his incantation. On the pages, a single, small flower was blooming. It had glowing golden petals. Sarin Kor explained that he believed this magic was the opposite force to the Doom. His running theory was that it would appear near acts of heroism, or acts of pure heartedness. He even believed the world had seen this magic before, they just never knew that’s what it was. Sarin Kor coined it as “Flourish”, a name to show its defiance to the Doom. He added that though it may not be quite as strong as the evil they faced, that’s never stopped the heroes of Matar before.
Before leaving Sarin Kor’s tower, they had the minotaur send a letter to Councilor Beckett to inquire after Revelrae, for they now grew truly wary of where her loyalties lay. The Rectifiers began to believe she may not even be aware of being a pawn of Saren. Sarin Kor also mentioned that he had assisted the master smith they rescued from the Magerony on repairing Skywalker’s cylinder. With this, The Rectifiers journeyed off toward the back courtyard of the crystal castle to Vellir’s new smithy.
At Vellir’s, Maron underwent a magic ritual that had been prepared by Sarin Kor using a bit of the golden magic he had found. Vellir took a “heroic” sacrifice from Maron in the form of blood to fill a tiny crystal with golden magic. Once placed inside the metal cylinder retrieved from Skywalker, Vellir was able to finish repairing it. Once activated, a golden blade of light emitted from the cylinder, which would cut through armor and flesh as well as or better than any sword. Vellir also added that this blade was powerful, but probably not quite as strong as one from wherever this blade came from. Maron equipped his new weapon, careful to not wave around the dangerous beam of light. Afterward, The Rectifiers returned to the throne room to speak to Aurum and Selina.
Selina offered a bit of insight on why Saren may be hunkering down in Luxen. She stated that the Doomking wanted to perform his rituals from the Ancient Skies, and it was possible Saren may have similar goals with regard to Luxen. She pointed out that they are not yet in a full-fledged Doom, and Saren may be hoping to truly begin it there. Gale also brought up the topic of meeting the Bloodied Heroes to Aurum. She gifted the blade Resurrection, last wielded by Aurum to finally slay the Doomking, back to Aurum, who stated that the blade did feel better in his hands now. Before leaving, the group invited Selina to join them to meet Lord Efreet. The lot departed to the marketplace to resupply before journeying to the Obisidian Depths.
While the party resupplied, Amy took gold investment offers from her fellow Rectifiers to stand up a brothel and safe house in Amanta. She took the gold to Harvey, who said he will look into plots in the Diamond Dwarvenium with the down payment she offered. With all their business settled, The Rectifiers and Crownguard Selina journeyed to the Depths.
Upon arrival, a dark red wisp of flame did indeed levitate toward them to guide them toward Lord Efreet’s castle. Once they had rounded a few corners and traveled a few streets, passing by mercenaries and adventurers of all sorts, they spotted the castle. It was surrounded by dark stone walls with red metallic gates. The castle itself had two towers, each topped by a large, dark red flame ever-burning. The tops of the walls held smaller flames. Along the tops of the castle and draped over the walls were dark red banners. At the gates stood two guards in black coats. In the folds of their coats was a silver piece of metal, barely peeking out. The guards glanced at Selina, given she did have horns, wings, and a tail, but allowed the group inside the castle.
Indoors, they were escorted up a large staircase toward Lord Efreet’s office. A salamander with dark red scales and a tongue of flame scurried by. Inside the office, they were greeted by Lord Efreet, an elderly dragonborn with deep red scales. He told the party he had two offers to make them, the first of which being a contraption he and his associates had crafted. Two more dark-coated men wheeled in a large ballista with a white-hot burning missile loaded. It seemed to burn perpetually. Efreet stated he knew the group needed a solution to the flying airship over Luxen. He said it would not destroy it entirely, but should be strong enough to bring it to the ground. In return, he offered two options as payment: the assassination of rogue associates from his “group” somewhere near Ignis or the recovery of a flame demon’s heart from deep below Amanta. The Rectifiers decided they would not kill on behalf of strangers for an unjust cause, so they opted for the slaying of the flame demon. Efreet said his men would conjure a portal just outside the demon’s lair for convenience.
When asked about his second offering, he told the group that would have to wait until their first deal had concluded. With that, he stepped into a room behind his chair with a very slight opening of the door. The only glimpse of what was inside was a brief shine of light blue light before he shut the door behind him…