1. Journals

17. Stupid Sexy Subterfuge

March 15, 2026

13th Sypheros, 998 YK

  • Ell does the recap, earning an Advance for Damien d'Orien
  • They're in Thaliost, having just met with Minister Calemi Iridanci, outside the door to the undercroft to collect the Duskgate Crucible.
  • Iridanci calls out to Jeffi, but he doesn't open the door
  • Minister Iridanci opens the door, which was already unlocked, flustered, and finds Jeffi seemingly asleep. He tries to wake him, but to no avail. That's so odd!
  • Iridanci is concerned, what's going on? Yashira steps into the room, putting her hand on Iridanci's shoulder, and asks if she can investigate?
  • Iridanci will go and get help. Yashira asks if this room is the only ingress for the vault? It is
  • Yashira takes in everything in the room whilst Iridanci goes to get someone
  • Yashira investigates the room and notices that Jeffi's lips are tinged purple, his waterskin is leaking a violet liquid, and the candle has burned down quite far.
  • Iridanci returns with two men: Drego Sarhain and Lukar Neskus.
  • Yashira identifies Drego as the biggest threat in the room, as he gives her an up-down, and then does the same to Damien
  • Damien immediately begins peacocking, which pisses off the already flustered Yashira
  • Yashira says Jeffi has been poisoned, can anyone heal him? Drego tries, but says it's beyond healing magic.
  • Charlie and Yashira both note that Drego didn't speak when casting. Charlie is flustered.
  • Lukar openly scowls at Damien whilst Drego has their attention, but Damien notices it
  • Drego has fully disarmed the group, all of them are now on edge. Damien peacocking, Yashira flustered like a threatened cat.
  • Drego dismissively tells Lukar to take Jeffi to the infirmary. Lukar scoffs but complies. Damien helps him along with Freedom of Movement.
  • Already making enemies
  • Drego asks Yashira what she's deduced? She flips the question, this is an active investigation (and she already hates this man)
  • Drego recounts everything Yashira noticed, and then asks if they'd opened the reliquary door?
  • "No"
  • "Exciting, shall we do it together?"
  • God she's seething
  • She steps up with a thin, forced smile, and they open the door together
  • Damien's got their back, he comes up behind them and gets a good look at Drego's arse
  • Yashira is already planning needing to enlist Ruckus to fix her coat, she can't be one upped by this prick
  • She puts her hand on the door handle, and Drego puts his hand over hers. He's infuriating. She tenses up, and hates that he would definitely have noticed that. Giving the game away for free.
  • The door dramatically swings open, revealing an empty chest
  • "Quelle surprise"
  • Damn it
  • Drego asks Iridanci what was in there?
  • Iridanci explains what the Duskgate Crucible is, and where it comes from. A crucible from Lamannia, forged of ore from its tallest mountains and quenched in its coldest seas. It's powerful, they need to get it back.
  • Lukar returns, and Drego immediately tells him he's going on a field trip. "What?"
  • Drego looks at Yashira and says he'll "let the detective explain"
  • "How kind"
  • "I just like hearing you talk"
  • Oh my god she's fuming
  • Damien gives her a look, silently communicating "don't let him get to you"
  • Yashira explains that the Duskgate Crucible has been stolen. They'll need to investigate to narrow the search.
  • A plan is formulated, Lukar will accompany the group to the Archfall district, where Lukar has a contact who knows poisons. They'll gather as much information as they can and then regroup. Drego and Iridanci will see if they can gather who might be interested in the Crucible.
  • Charlie isn't paying attention, he's too distracted by all the pretty men
  • Yashira is so glad to be out of Drego's presence. As soon as they've left, she has a scowl on her face. Damien flicks his hair as he walks out.
  • He makes eye contact with Drego as he does, who gives him another up-down. It's what he wanted but it's still unbalancing. It's like Drego appreciates him but doesn't respect him.
  • As they're walking, Yashira turns to the others ahead of Lukar and says "right, we need to lock in. I cannot allow this aggravating little man to upstage me. It's just not happening."
  • She's so mad
  • But she's smart enough not to say this in front of Lukar. She can't risk him letting "my skeevy little man" know
  • It's a matter of pride!
  • Damien says the man carries himself like someone who has something to prove
  • Yashira disagrees, he carries himself like someone who has proved himself and everyone knows it
  • Charlie doesn't think he was that bad
  • "Really?"
  • Ruckus says he was clearly compensating for something
  • "Oh Ruckus you're a little bitch, aren't you? I like it" - Damien
  • Charlie is so baffled, he liked him!
  • "Charlie, is this because he did the magic thing? Or is the personality just not grating for you? Both?"
  • Charlie just didn't think he was that bad! He was good at magic and he was handsome and
  • Yashira interrupts them. "Right, look at me. Both of you. (Not Nerys, they're lobotomised right now). Look me in the eyes. We don't fall for the sexy man, no matter what he does, not his perfect hair or his perfect teeth or his clothes he clearly made himself better than me. We don't fall for the sexy man! Capiche? We're all in agreement."
  • Damien asks if he can sleep with his assistant?
  • "That's...probably harmless"
  • "It'll probably bother Drego...wait, no it won't. Fuck" - Yashira
  • Speaking of the assistant, they've been excluding Lukar, who's walking behind them.
  • Charlie is hung up on something else. "Wait a minute, you like guys, Damien?"
  • "Oh, yeah. I like pretty much everything"
  • Charlie is so flustered now. His cheeks are bright red.
  • Yashira, oblivious, puts one hand on each of their shoulders and says "I'm glad we had this talk"
  • Damien starts talking about his previous relationships, oblivious to Charlie's state.
  • They keep walking, and Lukar calls them back. "Hey! We're getting a cart, where the fuck are you going?"
  • Right, sorry
  • Charlie makes an effort to calm down
  • It's a very uncomfortable cart ride, they're all having their own internal crises. Four of them (including Lukar) are just angry and horny.
  • Lukar tells them they need to be careful, tensions are high in Thaliost. He gestures out the window to graffiti, saying things like "Thaliost is Aundair!", "Never forget!" and "28"
  • Charlie and Damien know the history, it's referring to the uprising of 928. Which failed.
  • They also see the ruins of White Arch Bridge. Oop.
  • They disembark from the carriage, and Lukar flashes a badge instead of paying. The driver scoffs, and Lukar mutters "fucking loyalists" under his breath
  • Lukar leads them to a respectable building, titled "V. Vellareau—Cobbler, Printer, and Locksmith"
  • Damien says "I thought we were looking for a poison expert?"
  • Lukar scowls at him and enters.
  • Vilina Vellareau looks up, and says "My, if it isn't Filthy Lucre, my favourite customer"
  • Damien says that Charlie maybe has some magic to help with that.
  • "You dumb motherfuckers, she means morally"
  • Vilina asks if they're here to buy shoes? Lukar says there's been a theft, and they need information. He gives the floor to Yashira, "explain what you think is relevant, detective"
  • Yashira asks if she can be trusted? "Absolutely not, but we do need her help"
  • They ask for any news of a theft?
  • Vilina says she heard whispers of someone planning to rob the church, but she didn't pay much attention. Who would want to rob a church? They hardly keep valuables there
  • Hmm, could be politically motivated though
  • Vilina suggests the Scions Liberation Front, maybe. She doesn't associate with them, though.
  • Lukar asks how someone would smuggle something out of the city? "Lightning rail would be fastest. Lots of Orien employees frequent the White Arch dance hall, try asking there?"
  • Any other places worth checking out?
  • Anchor and Chain is a seedy shithole, kinda place she'd go if she were planning a heist.
  • Also, she heard the compensatingly showy young man said something about poisons? They should go see Woodsy Wendy
  • As thank you for the information, Yashira would like to buy some supplies for maintaining her boots. Vilina's whole demeanor changes to the kindly business owner. It's high quality stuff.
  • Yashira leaves a tip
  • Vilina says if they have time before they leave, come back and she'll make some new shoes
  • Yashira asks if they can come back to her for help with the case? She says "Lucre knows the price"
  • Excellent
  • Once they're out, Lukar says she didn't need to buy anything.
  • Yashira says kindness goes a long way, it makes people more inclined to help
  • Lukar rubs his forehead and agrees, he's just in a bad mood.
  • "Understandable"
  • Mhmm
  • Yashira says she reckons they all dislike Drego for different reasons. She's not gonna tip her hand though.
  • Charlie asks "wait you don't like us?"
  • "I don't know you, dear. We're discussing Drego fucking Sarhain"
  • Damien says she couldn't imagine working with him all the time. "What's he even doing here? He's not from Thaliost"
  • Lukar spills the beans a bit, the dam of frustration bursting. Drego is a senior agent of the Argentum, sent to try and deal with the rising tension in Thaliost. The worst part is, he's fantastic at his job and he knows it. Lukar could put up with it if he sucked, but he doesn't.
  • Charlie is confused, they hate him because he's competent?
  • Yashira tries to explain. He's a presence in the room, calculated to put everyone off balance and upstage you. He's not just competent, but he's better than you, and that's infuriating. He's competent at making others seem incompetent.
  • Anyway, Lukar asks if he's correctly identified Damien as Aundairian? Good, that'll be useful if they run into any separatists. Damien should do the talking, however he may feel about Thaliost.
  • Right, which lead do they follow first?
  • They'll go to the dance hall first, so Damien can sweet talk the Orien employees.
  • On the way, they run into a Thranish patrol who tells them that riots are breaking out and a curfew has been put in place, they need to get off the street.
  • Lukar flashes his badge and says they're on official business. Very well, the guards leave them alone.
  • They get to the dance hall and go in, and it's easy to pick out the Orien heirs from the unicorn crests on their jacket. Damien used to have one of those.
  • Orien sweet talks the locals expertly, and learns that a woman with a maroon cloak had been enquiring about a one-way trip to passage on short notice. He finds out when that train leaves, so they have an idea of how long they've got.
  • Lukar comments on how impressive that was. "Have you ever considered a job in intelligence?"
  • Damien runs his hands through his hair and says his talents are better used elsewhere, but thanks
  • Where to go next? They have limited time. Charlie suggests splitting up, but Lukar shuts that down. If they get caught by the guards without him right now, they'll be arrested.
  • Yashira and Ruckus thinks they need to follow up on the poison. They might lose too much time at the bar.
  • They go for the herbalist first, Woodsy Wendy.
  • They have another run in with the cops, but it goes the same way.
  • "That's why I didn't want us splitting up"
  • They go find Wendy's, a nondescript shop, and meet Wendy. Yashira takes point, and explains they're investigating a poisoning.
  • As soon as she mentions poison, Wendy exclaims "you've triggered my special interest!" and produces a huge book from under the counter. She excitedly asks them to tell her every detail!
  • Yashira describes the symptoms and the physical description of the poison. Wendy identifies it as havenflax, a sleeping drug from the Eldeen Reaches. Are they sure the victim didn't just overdose on their sleeping drugs?
  • Yashira says the circumstances around it make it suspicious. Is this drug purchasable in Thaliost?
  • "Oh, no no. They must've got it from the Reaches"
  • Amazing, thank you
  • Before they leave, Wendy asks if she can interest them in any potions? Healing? One that fights male pattern baldness as she looks at Damien
  • He fumes
  • Yashira wants that one actually, she needs it
  • Damien is confused, why? Then he gets it and breaks out in a smile
  • Yashira purchases the anti-baldness potion.
  • They also consider getting some healing potions actually? 
  • Damien asks what flavours they have? He's used to grape flavoured ones
  • Wendy doesn't do that flavoured shit, these are the real deal
  • But...but the grape flavour
  • Yashira has some flavouring she got from Ban, they can flavour it.
  • They each get some healing potions.
  • Once they're out of the shop, Yashira turns to Damien and asks if there's any chance of there being a ledger of who's getting on a train? Do they have to declare goods?
  • There's a lot of smuggling routes
  • Damien could find the records if he wasn't on his Wander, but he's not allowed to.
  • Yashira asks Lukar if he could get access to such records? He thinks the drug was smuggled illegally, havenflax isn't legal in Thrane. It's too easy to mess up the dosage and end up comatose.
  • He's not surprised the yokels in the Reaches use it though
  • Oof
  • Yashira doesn't pull on that
  • Do they go to the bar or return to Iridanci and Drego?
  • They worry that they won't have time to do both. They decide to go back to Iridanci.
  • They find Iridanci in the infirmary with poor Jeffi. He shoots to his feet and asks if they've learned anything? Then he apologises for the outburst and asks again quieter
  • Yashira asks if Jeffi's okay? "I don't know. We don't know what he's taken and he's dying"
  • Yashira tells him it was havenflax. Iridanci flags down a nurse and tells them, and they go off to find someone who can treat it. Jeffi could be okay! They hope he will be.
  • Yashira then tells him that they have a lead. The thief is likely going to take a train, and they know which train it's likely to be. They don't have a lot of time.
  • Maroon cloak, probably from the Eldeen Reaches.
  • Iridanci goes pale, and asks them to follow him to his office.
  • uhh okay
  • They find Drego in the office, leaning back in a chair and reading a book with one hand. It's celestial charts? He's reading about moons?
  • Yashira flicks the anti-baldness potion in his direction, expecting him to catch it despite not even looking at her. He doesn't catch it, at least not with his hand, but it bounces off of some force and flies back at Yashira. She catches it, fuming, but she still involuntarily smiles at it.
  • Gods damn it
  • She pockets the vial. Drego didn't even look up as that unfolded, and then looks up and goes "Oh, I didn't see you enter"
  • UGH
  • Drego asks what they've learned? Iridanci interrupts him and goes to his desk, getting out books and a map, and asks the group what they know about the Silver Crusade
  • Charlie and Damien are familiar, they explain the basics for Yashira, Ruckus, and the temporarily lobotomised Nerys.
  • Iridanci adds on to this. Towards the end of the conflict, the Church realised that some of the lycanthropes could be reasoned with, saved. They worked with the druids and shifter communities to open a gateway to Lamannia, where the lycanthropes wouldn't hurt anyone and would be free from their curse's influence. They used an ancient structure called the Changegate to open this portal, and the Duskgate Crucible is the key that opens it...
  • "You just had that lying around!?"
  • Iridanci is flustered, but it's okay, they can't just open the gate. They'd need a
  • Drego interrupts. "A conjunction of moons, like the one in three days"
  • This motherfucker
  • "What?"
  • "Barrakas, Lharvion, Aryth. All ascendant in three days."
  • All the colour drains from Iridanci. "They're really going to do it. You have to stop them! I don't mean to alarm" he says alarmingly, "but the fate of the world hands in the balance."
  • They'll need silver, he instructs Drego to take them to the armoury before they leave.
  • Yashira looks at Drego and notices his rapier is silvered, and he has silvered studs on his gloves. Bitch.
  • Drego and Lukar take them to the armoury to get armed with silvered weapons.
  • Damien laments that there's no rapiers. It's military weapons!
  • The shortswords are pretty similar, they guess
  • Damien takes a shortsword
  • Most of them couldn't wield the heavier weapons, but Ruckus' suit could. He takes the greatsword.
  • Nerys takes the halberd, basically a long axe innit?
  • Ruckus also takes the silver arrows, he can jury rig a repeater to fire them.
  • Drego tells them not to worry if they can only use a dagger, they just need it to shut down their regeneration.
  • Charlie awkwardly picks up a dagger but says he doesn't know how to use one
  • Drego smiles and tells him to stick em with the pointy end.
  • Yashira suggests he could try and mix his magic with the arrows perhaps? Launch them with ice?
  • Charlie's getting flustered. Drego puts his hand on his shoulder, it's so pleasantly warm oh gods, and he says "Hey, get it together. It's just the end of the world, I believe in you. Ice magic is cool as shit"
  • Charlie goes bright red. Yashira and Damien fume in the background.
  • Yashira prefers daggers. Drego does a flourish and produces one from somewhere, twirling it through his fingers so it lands blade flat against his fingers, and he holds it handle out to Yashira. She takes it, tests it a little and hates that it's perfectly weighted (and it has flame designs inscribed into the blade!). She passes it back and says they'll use the armoury weapons first, but she appreciates it.
  • He flicks the knife back into its hiding place, and Yashira just...gets angry, again. She's so susceptible to his bullshit. Fuck.
  • Okay, stock take. Who has what?
  • Damien has a shortsword. Charlie and Ruckus have daggers. Nerys has a halberd. There is one dagger left for Yashira. She picks it up, and it's...functional. It's a military weapon, not weighted for throwing, but it's a silvered bit of pointy metal. Not as nice as Drego's...
  • Charlie does some practice swings, and Damien comes over to show him how to do it. Damien notices Drego wink at him out of the corner of his eye.
  • "You need to push deep into the wound, Charlie. Deep!"
  • Charlie goes red, against
  • Yashira also offers to spar with Ruckus, as he also seems to not know how to use a dagger. He takes her up on the offer.
  • Yashira gives him a quick lesson on using a dagger, especially as you can't really parry with it. "We're only using it defensively, your exosuit is your offense."
  • Drego watches this, Yashira's form is perfect. He smiles and says "good"
  • "Why does it feel like bullying when it comes from him?"
  • Ruckus is getting there, but it's not his preferred weapon. It'll have to do.
  • Iridanci appears in the doorway, he's sent out messages with House Sivis. He gives them their rail tickets, and tells them to take the ferry to Delethorn once they arrive in Passage. Once there, ask for councilman Brunstan Fisher, he owes Iridanci and will help them. From there, they can travel through the woods to the Changegate. Everyone understand?
  • Yashira tries to calm him down. "Don't worry, you're in good hands, we always succeed"
  • Except for in Daanvi. Or Fort Bones.
  • Shut up DM we don't talk about those.
  • They get near the rail station, and there's a protest blocking the way. Fuck.
  • Drego says he and Lukar won't get through that. They'll have to go without them. He'll try and catch up when he can, but they can't afford the delay.
  • Charlie offers to disguise them with his drag kit. Drego really considers it, he'd look bangin' in drag, but they don't have time.
  • He messes up Damien's shirt a bit, and says "You're obviously Aundairian, you'll be fine. Go on, save the world. I'll do it next time."
  • Yashira asks when they'll catch up? He doesn't know, but he'll try. He'll be thinking about them, anyway
  • Ugh
  • They proceed into the crowd, and it's getting rowdy. At one point fists start flying, and they hear Drego yell "Close your eyes!"
  • They trust him, despite their animosity. A second later, a flash of light blinds the obstacles and clears a path.
  • They get through and arrive on the platform as the whistle blows for last warning. They get on board, get seated, and pull out of the station as a firebomb hits the station. Shouts turn to screams as weapons are drawn, and the guards close in. Thaliost won't be sleeping easy tonight.