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 both statues' appearances are likely glamours. 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 which street-smart people would know to avoid. Suvi suggests the group avoid Will Gallows for now, but Ame leads them toward the club anyway.

Entering, they are greeted by a pretty young hostess, Lila. The Ace of Wands boasts 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, hoping to draw the attention of the patrons -- and Ame. She's able to overhear conversations about three people of note. One 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, whose names are unfamiliar.

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 patiently 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, charming, and seems at once inviting and predatory. Ame once again gives all of their names, 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 as 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 he's unaccustomed to that kind of attention.

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 a burly man with a deathly pallor who can only be Will Gallows. They note that his hands seem a bit too big for his body. He takes a seat and waits for them to speak.

Ame opens the negotiations, indicating they would like to purchase a particular item from him (Wavebreaker) at any price. Gallows, a hard man with a sharp mind, reasons aloud that the Citadel doesn't know of Suvi's presence here -- that is, nobody would knock on the Ace of Wands' door if she were to disappear. Suvi coolly directs the conversation back to the sword. Eursulon explains it is the weapon Gallows obtained from Finley, realizing only after he's said 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, which the party doesn't have, but he would also consider 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. Pain has repaid some of it by pilfering money from the Imperium's coffers, but it isn't enough. Since Gallows is a criminal, he can't report the theft, and because Pain has the protection of the Empire, Gallows' usual methods of retribution against a debtor are more risky than usual. He suspects Suvi might be in a position to dig Pain out of the good graces of the Empire, and if she can, he'll hand over the sword.

Suvi suspects Gallows, but on reflection, she guesses he must have been unable to activate any of the sword's magical properties -- and that carrying it would draw more attention than he wants, anyway. Since he proposes to trade something he doesn't value for something he does, Suvi thinks he might be relied upon to follow through. She 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 (or worse) taking place, if Gallows had decided to go that way.

At that, Gallows and his crew leave. The moment they're gone, Suvi is overwhelmed, and vomits on the floor. Panicking, she accuses Ame of giving away too much information, of naively failing to perceive Gallows as 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
As the party wakes, they learn that this neighborhood near the wall seems to have lost a lot of people of late -- taverns are boarded up. They also see that there seem to be more Imperium ships in the harbor than before.

Ame creates a restorative potion to help her friends get past any hangover from the night before. Ame and Suvi apologize to one another for the mistakes they've made, and both are quick to accept. Suvi asks Ame to refer to her as Sky in public. Eursulon offers a few names he's been called -- Bear and Toma. The fox experiences his first hangover; he is not a fan.

The group considers how to approach the wizard Pain. Ame doesn't consider them committed to any particular approach, but Suvi has decided to see for herself if Pain really is stealing imperial funds, and go from there.

As they prepare to leave the hostel, they encounter a different proprietor than the night before, this time a man named Arthur. He tells them that a few months ago, the local kudzu vines began growing far too quickly -- in the course of a single evening, it enveloped a whole house. This unusual growth seems to be moving toward the city, and not inland. Since that time, Port Talon has closed its gates, and the farmers and villagers living by the forest have evacuated -- though they were all said to have gone west. None came into the city. Hedge mages sent to investigate have not returned. The Azure Battalion and the Scepter's Chorus were called to deal with the issue, and their solution was the witch fires now burning all over the city. They also raised the stone wall to protect the city, and to keep anyone from venturing out, citing safety concerns.

As the party questions him, Arthur explains that the colorful lights far out to sea are a wizard derrick, though he isn't sure what that is. He says the wizards started plans for construction about three years ago, and that the lights have been on for "a while".

Suvi notes that the hostel has no other guests and feels bad for them; the wall has destroyed their lives. She pays for a full floor of rooms for two weeks with a single imperial mark, and Arthur is very grateful, offering to pass along anything he hears that may be of interest to them.

Ame asks if he's familiar with any myths about the spirits of the surrounding area, and Arthur recalls a tale. Orima of the Reaching Green, spirit queen, was a mighty warrior. It was said that, when she was angered, she could only be calmed by Naram the Wave Lord, who was a gentle teacher. The fisherfolk of Port Talon had a gesture of reverence to Naram, as well. As he tells this tale, Eursulon recalls having heard the name Orima before -- one of the few times his father ever changed direction was to avoid a place where Orima was said to be.

With that, the group heads toward Finley to warn him that Gallows is looking for him. Finley lights out immediately. The group is now two for two on hedge mages fleeing town in their wake.

Ame offers the fox a chance to stop by the trash heap they missed before. The fox is truly touched and apologizes for doubting her. When they go to investigate, he is dismayed to find the heap gone, buried under rubble. It seems Ghost and Flicker have made their exit, taking with them a number of Finley's greater treasures.

The group heads for the Guild Spire, where they find a great deal of commerce and shipping underway. They also spot warships headed toward Galthmei, or perhaps lands further west. As they approach the main gate, Suvi shrugs off her commoner disguise to reveal her Citadel regalia. She is greeted with a crisp salute from the guards, who offer her an escort. When they ask for her name, she quickly discards her new alias. In the name of security, the guards cast Detect Magic on the party. There's a tense moment where they spot Eursulon's glamour and ask him to drop it. However, Eursulon argues that he is hideously scarred, and this seems to be enough of an explanation -- given that he's with Suvi.

As they enter the spire's courtyard, they see beautiful crystalline decor reminiscent of the Irulian Desert. They are served drinks, and Suvi at last gets her longed-for coffee. Several guild wizards arrive with an amount of pomp; they look at Suvi's citadel wizard garments with a respectful envy. The guild mage in the lead, a monastic-looking fellow in white, bears two notable items: an Imperial emerald ring, and a single scroll that contains multiple spellbooks. He greets Suvi effusively, clearly knowing who she is; unprompted, he drops the names of her parents and of Archmage Silence. He cues a hidden accomplice, who creates a bright burst of confetti and fireworks that spell out a welcome to Suvi -- by name. Weeping, the man introduces himself as Guild Mage Morrow and says how excited he is to show her everything.

Main player characters

 * Suvi
 * Ame
 * Eursulon

Returning

 * The Fox
 * Finley

New

 * Lila, hostess at the Ace of Wands
 * Irami the Cudgel, one of Gallows' gang
 * Arleigh Price, one of Gallows' gang
 * Will Gallows, a crime boss
 * Arthur, worker at a failing hostel
 * Morrow, leader of the Kalabel Chantry

Mentioned

 * Ghost
 * Flicker
 * Naram the Wave Lord
 * Orima of the Reaching Green
 * Pain (first mentioned)
 * Galani (first mentioned), a wizard in the Citadel's Researcher's Corps