We resume where we left off last time, after Clayton Griffmane confessed to his brother Dareth Lion'el Griffmane that he fled from duty on the fateful day Skyhold was attacked, and Skytalon rejected him ever since. Dareth responded in fury; first simmering, then boiling over, as Clayton continued to shrink in shame. Asking the rest of the party out (with Volk Lesnoy going out last, only at significant urging from Dareth).
Dareth continued to shout at his brother, with Clara Griffmane staying to be witness, and eventually mentioned how, as per old Galonian law, abandoning ones creed like he did involved a capital punishment, as he drew his swords. Clayton squeezed his eyes shut... only to hear Dareth's blade to hit the floor in front of his face. Dareth would be sparing his life, since he was still his brother and, with Clara, Dareth's only family... but Clayton would be banished from their ancestral home of Skyhold, marked at "Tainted", and would from now on be tasked with keeping Clara safe. Dareth then sent him away, no longer wishing to see him. And so, Clayton did.
Clara then continued to comfort Dareth a little, telling him that in her opinion, he did the right thing... But Dareth, under tears, just told her that he wasn't sure. He then asked for some time alone to properly come to terms with what he did, and Clara left, bundling Skytalon in a blanked, taking it with her.
The rest of the Agate Seekers then did their best to comfort the crying Dareth; while they didn't quite understand what went on and the traditions Dareth talked about, they could at least empathize with him. After taking some time to calm down, Dareth then rallied the party to leave; telling them of his intention to first take Clara and Clayton to Argentis for a few days, before sending them to Lordston, the capital of the Royal Union of Albia, Galon and Wanil, so that they could meet with the Queen and perhaps find refuge in the capital; perhaps allthewhile they get escorted by his blademother, Celeste Arborguard.
After packing things up, with Clayton and Clara ready to go, Dareth nonetheless had a small talk with Clara, where he clarified his plans for the two. Clara agreed, saying that perhaps Celeste wouldn't be available, but that a letter from both him and another noble of the union might give the two some credibility of not being imposters. Dareth then looked at Sooty, who, after being asked, agreed to putting his signature on there.
Clara then held out Skytalon to Dareth; this ritual of bequeathal would be a bit different, but hey, this is Dareth's style anyway. Upon grasping the handle, Dareth found himself in a replica of Skyhold Keep... only that it seemed much... newer... With no paintings decorating the walls like he remembered. He heard a voice from behind him... and after turning around, saw a sight he never expected to see...
A huge, black griffon, rivaling the size of a dragon... and an old man, sitting on a throne... None other than Karl Griffmane. The two had a conversation and a bit of a heart to heart. Karl had his and his griffon's souls bound to the sword to guide future members of the Griffmane Family. He also could see into Dareth's memories a little, and saw Dareth's point of view of the events of that fateful night; mentioning how the difference between him and his brother was, that Dareth only left when he was ordered to, and when there truly was no other way. And that in the end, Bravery isn't a suicidal absence of fear, but being scared and doing what's needed, anyway. Nonetheless... he agreed with Clara about sparing Clayton, as the world has changed quite a bit since his reign, and this tradition was perhaps a bit too much for modern times.
Eventually, Karl also revealed a pretty big secret to Dareth... Namely that no member of House Griffmane has been related to him by blood in a long time; his great-grandson wasn't able to conceive children, and so he secretly adopted a child... an ancestor to Dareth. He then continued that, he knew that Dareth was sometimes considered as a black sheep by the other nobles of the region; as something unworthy, because he was conceived out of wedlock... But he never was unworthy, just because of who he was. Dareth needed to process this for a moment.
Dareth, upon being asked by Karl whether he truly wanted to take on the responsibility this sword brings, agreed... and his mind was shunted back into the physical realm, where, for the past 10 minutes or so, everyone else watched him space out, holding this sword's handle.
Eventually, at that point, the party made their way back to Argentis. Upon teleporting there, it was already dark. Rhaia Spotwind just went out for her night shift, alongside Willi, the dog Zora trained a long time ago. After some greetings, she mentioned that it would be nice to have another person on night shift; it's getting a bit lonely. That's when Dareth volunteered his brother; at least for the rest of the week that he is here.
Back in the restaurant and after a nice lunch, courtesy of Kilbi Leaftooth and Galto, (with Clara being confused about how their relationship works), Dareth took his sister to meet and play with the Pseudogriffons. The rest of the party meanwhile, mostly Volk, Philomena Snapdragon and Sooty, were stopped by Nyaltad Lilovyre, who informed the party that they needed to feed soon, warning them and asking if they could perhaps partake one night. After getting the permission of (some of) the party, they informed them also that Crysta Damanti wanted to talk to them.
Seeking her out, the party then quickly found out what she wanted to say; namely that her husband got promoted on his job, and she recently found out she was pregnant. She was telling the party of perhaps finding a replacement for when she's on maternal leave sometime in spring, but also that she's thinking of becoming a full-time housewife, and was still in the process of making a decision... her love for the A Taste of Home notwithstanding. Volk just told her that he'd support whatever decision she'd make.
She also told Volk how that one man that Kilbi used Detect Thought on a while ago, and found out that something bad was happening at Raja's Crown, went missing... but recently reappeared. Volk, intrigued, wanted to investigate... only to find the Raja's Crown closed for the night.
With this, Downtime was formally started. Besides the usual training, Dareth decided to pen that letter and tasked Prioz Bronzefield with escorting his siblings, as Celeste really wasn't able to escort them; but commended Dareth on the idea of sending them to Lordston and the Queen. And with that, he paid everyone's Teleportation-Service Tickets, and the next day, Prioz returned after a successful delivery.
Volk and Sooty meanwhile went shopping... finding a high-end magic item shop called "The Ebony Wand" in the Mages District of Argentis; run by a Moon Elf gentleman. The two were able to buy two interesting items; a pair of Stormrider Boots and a Belt of the Hell Hound, and were able to reserve a third belt, a Belt of Orion, for the future.
However, as Sooty was interested in attuning to the Hellhound Belt, which runs the risk of the user's body going up in flames if they die, they decided to buy a secondary Bag of Holding at the Wondrous Bargains, and transferred every item in Sooty's dungarees to it, for the time being.
SESSION END.