Fresh Fish

"" is episode 6 in The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, released on May 9, 2024.

"The new kids learn the ropes around Port Talon. Press the flesh, as it were. First impressions are so important. Making new friends is easy. Unless...you don't think someone might try to take advantage of the- no don't even say it. Who would do such a thing. Nobody in Port Talon, that's for sure. Great town. Good schools.   — Official episode description."

Part 1
In the plaza with the spirits' statue, Ame recovers from her vision, and explains it to her friends. She also notes that the feminine statue has features which mark her as a greater spirit. Eursulon agrees, and notes that the statues' appearance seems to be a glamour. He believes the two may be responsible for certain duties in the mortal world. But he is more concerned with getting his friends out of the rain.

The group turns toward the stately townhouse with the golden plaque. It reads "The Ace of Wands". Eursulon recalls it to be a club which was technically open to the public, but where street-smart people would know not to go. Suvi suggests the group avoid Will Gallows for now, but the club is the only readily available shelter, so they take the risk.

Entering the club, they are greeted by a pretty young hostess, Lila. The Ace of Wands appears to boast cabaret-style music, card tables and billiards, and appears to serve Port Talon's wealthy upper class. Lila inquires if they're guests of anyone here. Ame says no, but drops that Suvi is a Wizard of The Citadel and asks if there's an opening at any table. Lila graciously directs them to wait in a drawing room for one to become available, saying that any member of the Citadel is most welcome. She also notes their names in a ledger before escorting them upstairs.

The drawing room is a refitted solarium with big windows that curve near the ceiling to give a view of the sky. There are busts and paintings of wealthy people, including representatives of the Imperial Crown. A blue witch-fire in a hearth lights the room, and the room is magically heated -- both of which are expensive accoutrements. A piano player and a bartender are at work. Finally, the group notices that while the people seated here are dressed in expensive clothes, their manner is crass.

The ladies take a seat while Eursulon gets drinks from the magnificently mustachioed bartender. Ame offers some of her mulled wine to The Fox, who takes a strong liking to it. Suvi puts some of her Citadel bearing on display and overhears conversations about three people of note. One of these is Galani, a high-ranking abjurer in the Citadel's Researcher Corps that Suvi recalls from her days there. The others are Pain and Morrow.

Ame notices a man sitting on his own, not socializing with anyone. By his side is a thick wooden club banded with iron, and from this, Ame decides he must be the Cudgel, a man Ghost once mentioned as one of Will Gallows' minions. It's clear the Cudgel is watching their table as she approaches and tries to make small talk with him. Though he gruffly brushes her off, Ame intuits that he is waiting for someone -- Will Gallows must be in the building.

As she returns to tell her friends what happened, they aren't subtle enough; the Cudgel takes note of them and leaves the room. Shortly he reappears with a woman who introduces herself as Arleigh Price (the other minion mentioned by Ghost). She is well dressed and seems at once inviting and predatory. They introduce one another, and Arleigh welcomes them to the Ace of Wands. She notes that Citadel wizards rarely frequent the club and offers to get them into one of the club's games. Ame mentions the Cudgel, who Arleigh introduces by his proper name, Irami. The conversation is a tricky one; though Arleigh is smiling, her words are laced with veiled threat. Suvi takes a swing at flirting with Irami, but it doesn't go her way.

Arleigh leads them to a small room labeled Table 4. As they enter, Eursulon notes that the deadened window box used to contact Will Gallows is visible from this room. Arleigh and Irami leave, and as the group wait, they notice a particularly loud game kick up on the floor below. Then, the door opens to admit Arleigh and Irami, four other grim-looking silent people, and finally an extremely pale and burly man who can only be Will Gallows. They note that his hands are a bit too big for his body. He takes a seat and waits for them to speak.

Ame opens the negotiations, indicating that they would like to purchase a particular item from him (Wavebreaker) at any price. Gallows, a stern and hard man, suggests that Suvi in particular is in some trouble with the Citadel -- at the very least, she shouldn't be here, and nobody would know to come looking here for her if she were to disappear. Suvi coolly directs the conversation back to the sword. Eursulon explains it is the weapon Gallows obtained from Finley, and realizes only after saying it that Gallows will certainly kill Finley for giving up his name.

Still, Gallows appears willing to trade the sword. He would accept 5000 imperial marks for it, but he would also accept a favor in trade. The wizard Pain -- who Gallows explains is a guild mage working with the Azure Battalion -- owes him a considerable sum from gambling in his establishment. He's paid some of it with money pilfered from the Imperium. But since Gallows is a criminal, he can't report it, and because Pain has the protection of the Empire, Gallows' usual methods of retribution aren't advisable. But he suspects Suvi might be able to put Pain out of the good graces of the Empire, and if she can, he'll hand over the sword.

Suvi suspects Gallows' motivations, but reasons out that he must not have been able to activate any of the sword's magical properties -- and that carrying it would draw more attention than he wants, anyway. Suvi asks that Gallows throw in his friendship with the blade. Gallows demurs; he can be welcoming, but that's as far as it goes. Suvi makes the deal.

Ame tries to hear the beating of Gallows' heart, as it was previously suggested he might have died before coming to Port Talon. However, she can't hear over the loud game being played downstairs -- which she realizes was intended to drown out the noise of a beating taking place, if that were how this meeting had turned out.

At that, Gallows and his crew leave. Suvi is immediately overwhelmed, vomiting on the ground. Panicking, she accuses Ame of again giving away too much information, and of being too naive to perceive that Gallows was dangerous. Ame shrugs this off but offers to let Suvi do the introductions going forward. The Fox suggests it would be easier if none of them had names, like him. He's given a bit more liquor in praise.

As they leave, Lila offers them each a playing card (the ace of wands/diamonds), which has the number 4 stenciled at the center. This is the same number as Will Gallows' room upstairs, and Lila implies it will grant them entry when they return.

Eursulon leads them all to a low rent hostel, the Fox sleeping drunkenly in his arms. The building is in the shadow of the massive wizard-crafted stone wall, near a gate which is sealed shut with steel beams. Though the hostel was always full when Eursulon was last in Port Talon, they see on entering that they're the only ones here. They rent a single room so cheap that Eursulon can pay for it out of his actor wages. As they settle in, someone on top of the wall lights another witch fire, and Eursulon feels ill.

Part 2
Suvi takes a pseudonym, for a minute. Some salient history lessons from a local innkeeper, a lost trash heap, and a magnificent fireworks display. (More coming soon...)

Main Player characters

 * Suvi
 * Ame
 * Eursulon

Returning

 * The Fox
 * Will Gallows
 * Finley
 * Irami the Cudgel
 * Arleigh Price

New

 * Morrow, an imperial wizard of some authority at the Port Talon Guild Spire
 * Pain (mentioned only), a guild mage working with the Azure Battalion
 * Galani (mentioned only), a wizard in the Citadel's Researcher's Corps
 * Lila, hostess at the Ace of Wands
 * Arthur, an innkeeper

Mentioned

 * Ghost
 * Flicker
 * Naram the Wave Lord
 * Orima of the Reaching Green