- The SPI agents were covered in Flux goo from Solomon’s explosion. Their memories were scattered and fragmented while Mallory briefed them on the latest happenings:
- Freki remembered Mallory paying him, and offering him a job as a full-time member of the SPI. As part of his pitch, Mallory gave a vague spiel about knowing what it’s like to be alone. Freki accepted the job. Cassandra healed Freki’s fragmented essence.
- Bec remembered opening Grosh’mog’s cage. “You will soon find a clue to your father’s whereabouts. But it will not matter—the world will finally be rid of filthy elves soon,” he declared smugly. “May you find honor and glory. I hope we do not meet again; I would hate to have to kill you.”
- Cal remembered parting ways with Kavaki, feeling mutual respect and a sense that they would meet again some day. He also remembered seeing Ceowyn in the room next door practicing the four types of elemental energy, spinning, combining, separating. Ceowyn invited him to a sparring session. Cal was tripped up when the tiles in the floor erupted under his feet; Cal cut him with his sword; Ceowyn closed his eyes in concentration and healed the wound by meditating.
- Callie remembered Salazin, the family’s new imp servant, appearing with a summons from her parents. She returned home to speak with them. They told her a Flux spot now grows beneath Euphoria. It is dangerous and unfit for operation. The Rockwell clan does not know how to deal with this albatross. Callie promised to tell her boss about it, and ask him for aid.
- Vondal remembered receiving a private lecture from Mallory. The Temple of Symmetry was ultimately sucked into the unstable vortex which was created when Vondal disrupted the Zenithal Summit. Sonan the Scholar is dead, from the wounds he suffered curing Vondal, Kára and Mishaal. Ceowyn wants a place where he can meditate in seclusion, as recompense. Mallory told Vondal: “This goes beyond a formal reprimand. I should fire you. But we’ve been through too much together. So according to the official case file, the bad guy’s magic tainted the platform. Don’t make me regret this—I could lose my job if you get up to any more wild magic shenanigans.”
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Mallory told the agents that they have a new resident of HQ: Ceowyn Mandragoran, the Master of Earth, from the Temple of Symmetry, who teleported in (!) and requested to stay, now that his monastery was destroyed.
- Mallory also told the party that several new areas of Flux have emerged, including one where the Stormherd camp was, and another at the old SPI headquarters under the Mountain. He says that their colleague Audreth has been dispatched to Euphoria to research ways to combat their growth. Mallory stresses that the SPI’s new top priority is to prevent, or failing that, contain explosions of wild magic from now on (e.g., like Cal tried to do by destroying the Flux weapon), until a way is found to reverse the Flux at these hotspots.
- Mallory gave the agents their next case—although no crime has been committed this time. He showed them a card he received which “demands a response.” On the front side, written in flowery elven script, was “R. Mallory.” On the flip side, it was blank, but with detect magic, writing appeared: “At the sanctum of the esteemed T. Invictus, His Dreaded Excellency. Be at the 4th Circle of Estanesse at twilight on Evensday. Rest assured that all manner of precautions are being taken to protect all involved parties. Yours sincerely, P. Stormcloud, MAI, MHA.”
- Callie and Bec knew the name P. Stormcloud: she is a historian, author of “The Aecus Concord and the War of Countless Deaths,” the definitive history of the events leading up to the cataclysm and reformation 50 years ago.
- MAI = Master of Arcane Invocations; MHA = Master of the Historical Arts.
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Mallory briefed the team on known artifacts likely to be on par with the lamp. These objects might (or might not) be part of this auction. The artifacts in the file include: 1) the Necronomicon, 2) the Arkenstone; 3) the Cornucopia of Life; 4) Yggdrasil, the World Tree; and 5) the Lamp of Seeming. After hearing about the artifacts, it occurred to Bec that each one seemed to be aligned with a different divine domain! See Items of Interest from the case 07 file for details.
- In the 24 hours before the meeting time, Bec, Callie, and Vondal investigated possible artifacts for the remaining domains:
- Knowledge: Callie had a hunch about what it might be! But she did not share.
- Tempest: Callie summoned Belifax so that she and Bec could ask him about Melora, the goddess of the sea who the citizens of Trell are forbidden to worship. When they dropped her name, Belifax whispered the legend: Melora lives in the eye of the Relentless Hurricane, at the helm of a mighty vessel which she built using her own two hands. Many in Trell do not believe it, and in fact, Melora worship is sometimes punished by sending the offenders into the hurricane. Belifax then offered them some freshly baked blood cookies.
- War: No ideas yet!
- Meanwhile, Freki scouted out the 4th Circle of Estanesse, and found it looks like this: He staked out the place for 24 hours. As the time of the meeting neared, several colorful characters emerged—see Persons of Interest from the case 07 file for details.
- Timor Invictus appeared at the circle, and demanded everyone produce their invitations.