As the group boarded Dieter’s ship, they found Dieter, Fehr, and Former Rectifier Gale speaking. Dieter handed over the group’s tickets for the Festival of the White Flame and bid his farewells as he and Fehr departed. Gale told Lette she would have to part ways and return to Haven due to a break-in at Greth’s Tower that Mira was furious over. Gale bid everyone farewell and said she hoped to see them at the finale of the festival.
During the first day of the voyage, Cassian presented the group with a plaque he said would be permanently adorned around the perimeter of Naviga’s fountain. The plaque was polished wood in the shape of a burst of flame, with a metal plate reading “1st Annual Paragons of Naviga”, followed by each of their names in two columns. The newly anointed Paragons were touched by Cassian’s gift, which he said was his own idea.
The Paragons spent the rest of the first day of the voyage enjoying one another’s company with dice games, games of sport, and sharing drinks.
When they awoke the next day, an unnaturally dense fog had settled in. Through the fog, a massive galleon with the name “The Rigalipio” drifted into view, pulling up parallel to Dieter’s vessel. While searching through shipping records, Steward Cain and the Paragons found an entry for a “Rigalipio” from the year 10 BD. It was registered to Queen Selina, likely a Scarlet vessel, and it was reported sunk that same year, with the only survivors being the Talons of Scarlet. The Rigalipio did appear dilapidated, burning from within, and crew-less. Once a scouting party of mages went aboard and simply vanished, the Paragons volunteered to investigate the ship and find the lost mages.
Once aboard, Dieter’s ship somehow faded from view in the fog. The Rigalipio’s captain’s quarters had a door sealed by four golden wisps of flame, as well as a knocker etched with golden runes. When the Paragons touched the knocker, they were transported to a starry midnight realm, suspended in an infinite void. In this void was a luxurious four-poster bed, draped in red silks. A figure lay within, covered by a silvery shroud. A woman paced in front of the bed, contemplating it. She had a braided bun of dark hair with a streak of silver cutting through the black. With a fierce look of surprise in her nearly electric blue eyes, she drew a sword and a staff, both swirling with lightning magic.
Though she seemed hostile at first, the situation was diffused when she realized the Paragons meant no harm. The woman was Sariel, the sister of former Queen Selina. She claimed she had been hopping across worlds, dimensions, and planes, searching for her recently resurrected sister, as she hasn’t been seen in 10 years. Sariel seemed to need to orient herself, asking the Paragons what year it was and who ruled Matar. She explained that the figure in the bed was unreachable wherever they were, but she had a feeling the Paragons would be able to unseal the figure back aboard their ship. Sariel said she could tear reality just a bit further when she sent them back, hopefully opening an avenue to unseal the sleeping figure. When pressed, Sariel explained that this figure seemed to always share a bond with Selina, and that unsealing this person could draw Selina out. The Paragons agreed, and Sariel sent them back to The Rigalipio with a snap of her fingers.
The Paragons investigated The Rigalipio, finding strange puzzles and dreamscapes within. In one such plane, they leapt across creaking crow’s nests toward a stormy castle in the distance. Once they reached the castle, their visions turned to a spectator’s vision.
They witnessed a cloaked woman sneaking into what appeared to be the castle of Luxen, but in the past. The castle had a mystical storm brewing overhead, as well as strange, abominated dragons helmed by enhanced soldiers. The cloaked woman snuck her way into the castle until she found King Korrin, sometime before he was killed by the Talons of Scarlet, waiting on his throne. He bore his dark crown and sword with swirling light and dark magic. The woman threw back her hood, revealing dark hair and silver eyes. The two dueled to the top of a tower until Korrin finally disarmed both of the woman’s blades. The woman begged Korrin to “Free her,” while Korrin merely smirked and replied that Selina was not being held against her will, that she was a willing partner the entire time. He even revealed to this mystery woman that Aurum was not even Selina’s child. With that, Korrin stalked off, leaving the woman in a state of shock. The vision faded from the Paragon’s view.
Next, the Paragons journeyed below deck, finding a large hallway of cabins. Through a series of traversing the rooms with fragile keys, finding cursed regalia along the way, they at last found a scarlet-hued key that would unlock the largest of the rooms. They inserted the key, and their visions blurred with starlight to show another scene…