Callie suggests to teleport the Cornucopia to “my parents’ basement—by which I mean their vault.” She explains that they live in a secure location in Cognitutus, the secret underwater city of gnomes! Bec deciphers and adapts a ritual from a history book that Anne Bonny brought, which described a druidic group ritual to … the party can’t remember. Bec leads the group teleportation ritual, barely competent (with Stephanie rolling exactly what was needed on the die). Anne Bonny provides the scroll of teleport. Callie draws the sigil sequence. Bec opts not to include the participants in the teleportation effect, but only the artifact.
The agents then realize they will need to trek back to Refuge—another seven-day journey through the desert, which has grown notably more inhospitable since the Cornucopia disappeared.
Anne Bonny whines to her boss: “Do we really need to slog all the way back?” to which Bram says no, they can teleport back. After a brief discussion, SPI agents agree to accompany Bram and Anne Bonny back to the Tempest, Bram’s ship.
They appear in the captain’s quarters. There is a lot of treasure and finery. There is an ice chest, closed, with an unlocked padlock. Bec almost peeks inside but Bram says, “I wouldn’t open that if I were you.”
Out on the deck, they see a large teleportation circle in the middle. A terrible storm rages in all directions a mile or so out from the ship. Several pirate crew members are active on deck, including a thri-kreen lookout peering through a magical spyglass from the crow’s nest.
The lookout climbs down and clicks at Bram, handing him the spyglass. Bram spies a chaos rift a couple miles away, and charts a course around it. “That wasn’t there before.”
Sending from Callie’s mom:
CALUMNYSTRA ROCKWELL!
What is this giant fountain doing in our foyer‽
Come home at once and explain yourself, young lady! 5 MINUTES!
Response from Callie to her mom:
Saving the world and family honor!
Do not touch the Cornucopia unless you’re tired of having limbs!
Back ASAP!
Vondal suggests contacting R. Martine Andrews, the sentient Warforged artifact, who went off after the Necronomicon, which had been stolen by an evil druid. Sending from Callie:
Questing to save the world!
You and the book may be in grave danger!
We can help if needed!
Let us know your status!
Response from the Warforged:
Ra’ksh lurks in the Deepwood. The Tree dies more daily. We search.
Something has happened. Reality has fissured.
Find me after you repair the center.
I don’t want to have to kill a paladin! There’s like so much paperwork!
Sending from Callie to R. Martine Andrews:
Center of what?
Response from the Warforged:
The Flux bleeds even into the Deepwood now.
Sima has ceased, and I feel myself eroding.
The eye of Orsus must be damaged. Fix it.
Where is Mallory? No answer on the sending stone.
The SPI can barely remember Cassandra.
A scrying sensor appears above Cal! The thri-kreen lookout perceives it through the trueseeing spyglass.
Party doesn’t like being spied on. Bram is OK with Bec trying to dispel it. She casts dispel magic right as Leopold Gardenblossom messages Cal: “Where in the bajeezus are you? We’ve been looking everywhere for you! Please, come meet us at—” and the dispel magic terminates the scrying effect before Gardenblossom can finish.