Act 2: Upheaval III - The Master Weaver and the Arena

Once Steve asks Segel that the baths be prepared, the first mate grabs twenty of his siblings from the galley—they're having quite a party in there—and go do just that. Steve lets Amber use the bath that was installed in one of the cabins, which she is grateful for since it provides complete privacy. Looking at her expression, she seems to have a lot on her mind right now. When it's Mihai's turn to get himself cleaned, she seems to have composed herself and tells her brother she's ready to go out.

Fluffle shyly asks Steve if he can take a bath with him, and is relieved when the black mage accept his request. A few fairies do sneak up on them and sing happy shanties from the other side of the curtains, but despite a few jokes, they leave Steve and Fluffle alone so they can get some privacy.

Femke tells Konrad she can leave him alone while he takes his bath, or she can simply not look at him while she continues to review Goodman's research. Konrad doesn't mind if she stays, and so he finishes washing himself in short time.

The party gathers on the deck and heads to the Faculty, but not before making a stop at the Myrzen Snack. They have to wait for ten minutes before the cashiers can take their order since there are many other people in town at the moment who are hungry. They all order different sandwiches; a toasted meatball marinara six-inch sub with mozzarella for Konrad, a tuna melt for Steve, a shrimp sub with cheese for Amber, which she is happy to share with Fluffle, and a spicy beef sub for Mihai—his sister chose for him. Florolf yaps at the party members and after being presented different sandwiches, he opts for a piece of pork.

Each meal costs 1 silver and 2 coppers.
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7:46 PM, 5th of April 422
Wharf, Odwaz, Myr

The sun has set by the time the adventurers arrive at the Faculty, the four stories tall building that occupies the space of multiple city blocks. When they observe its walls, they notice the color of the stone isn't uniform. It's clear that the building has been expanded over many decades and some of its corridors are open streets covered by a roof. Some wooden footbridges have been built to keep everything connected however.

Many Defenders are patrolling this sector of town.

"Wow," Amber and Fluffle say at the same time.

Florolf is unimpressed and continues to lick his paw.

The Faculty:

"Wow! It's even bigger than I thought it would be!" Steve looks like he's about to wander off and start exploring.

"Mm-hm," Konrad murmurs as he takes in the sight. "Haven't been back here since I was student."

"You studied here?" Fluffle asks, surprised.

"Wow. I wonder if they'll have a class for fairies one day."

Amber chuckles. "I'd like to see that," she says.

Mihai looks at the architecture, deep in thought - "In the off-chance they assume us to be the Orb people, i'll say i woke up on the ship. No memory of why, no one to tell us, so we just kept moving forward, hoping to get some answers. It's as close to the truth as can be; easier to hold on to."

"Uh, what about me and Fluffle?" Amber asks. "I don't have anyone's else orb in my head."

"We cut a deal with you. You help us and we give you your loved ones back." Steve is eagerly looking across the way at a group of students joking as they go for pizza.

"Or, you can be a hanger-on. An ignorant drone who helps us out of love and concern for your older brother and his friends, because you have no idea who we really are." He winks.

"Hmm..." - he thinks - "Well, we could always say you're Anne, but that'll bury us real quick if Edward came here. Though it's not very likely that you'd be walking around with us if we weren't ourselves anymore, and they could only fool you for so long. Like, a minute."

He looks like he's thinking hard about this one - "Steve might be on to something. It's not really watertight, but it's probably the best option. We would have no idea it's Edward that did this to us. I don't think Nick would have gone along with it either, so it's not out of the question that you'd come to some sort of understanding. Fluffle can tell the truth about how he got involved, too. With an adjustment or two."

"So we're helping you because I want my brother back," Amber says.

"And I want to help Breeze," Fluffle adds. "I think that could work."

"Yeah, me too. Who do we meet first?"

"They have an Auction!" replies Steve, watching a group of merchants talking about the Tournament and Auction.

"I'm curious as to what Makara wants, but maybe something's turned up on that letter's handwriting by now."

"Steve." Konrad snaps his fingers. "Later, man."


"It pains me to put a summons on hold further for what seems like a friendly chat with a preferred candidate, but you may be right."

"Right, right, focus. Let's go see Nadzieja then. Being forewarned is being forearmed, as the saying goes."

"Hmm..." - he agrees

The party ventures into one of the Faculty's streets and passes by a group of well dressed merchants who are waiting for the auction house to open. Apparently, some of the best seats for the Tournament are going to be auctioned to the highest bidders. Fluffle is very curious to see what it'd look like, but he knows that the party must focus on more pressing matters at the moment.

The adventurers continue on their way and search for the Szefowie's quarters. They pass by the dormitory for the children who attend the elementary school, and see them having dinner in the cafeteria. A hundred meters later, they walk in front of the hospital where a few people are waiting for a nurse to take them to one of the white mages on duty. It never takes too long.

Amber finally finds a map of the Faculty that has been affixed to a billboard, which was clearly intended to be used by both Myrzens and foreign visitors since it's written in Wytrwaly and Imperial. The teenager points to a section of the Faculty named the "Residences" that is cut off from everything else around it. This is where the Szefowie and other official dignitaries live.

The deeper into the Faculty the adventurers go, the narrower the streets become. Five minutes later, they're walking into hallways of stone illuminated by red magical torches. They reach a large hall guarded by fourteen Myrzen warriors, all of them as menacing as the ones they met back at the Arena.

A fifteenth person steps out of the shadows and approaches the adventurers. He's a frail old man of at least sixty years old and unlike the other people in this room, he isn't armed nor does he wear any sort of armor. He resembles more a bureaucrat than a warrior.

"Good evening," he says with a warm smile. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes we do. Is Szef Zerva in?"

"And you are?"

"Steve Oldturn of the Coin's 113th Adjunct."

Konrad smiles back. "We're the mercenaries who helped her kill the werewolf. Can you have her notified that we would like to speak to her in brief?"

"Mihai Lowick."