In the Drink

"In the Drink" is episode 4 in The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, released on April 11, 2023. "Blood, steel, and fire. Who needs a captain anyway? We do not have to be in community here. Another door opens. Blood, rain, and glass. Are we there yet?"

Part 1
Having cornered Ame in an isolated corner of the ship, the shadow inside Captain Emliss emerges to attack. Ame tries to reason with Emliss, but sees from her blank expression and the black color on the whites of her eyes that Emliss is possessed, and unreachable. As Ame tries to make a run for it with the fox under one arm, the shadow strikes her down.

Eursulon and Suvi fly into action. As Eursulon and the shadow trade blows, Suvi releases her magic missiles -- glass darts which make a shattering sound on impact. To avoid being struck by imperial magic, the shadow abandons Emliss, and the darts fell her.

Eursulon picks up Ame and heals her. The fox, very distressed, declares he isn't a fan of the boat so far, and asks that they not do that again. Eursulon picks him up as well, and the fox finds comfort there.

Meanwhile, Suvi examines Emliss' body -- still alive, but bleeding out. Suvi notices a Rhuvian sigil on the back of the captain's neck, which she is able to translate as 'chalice'. This, Suvi knows, signifies a person who elected to undergo a possession, which her Citadel training tells her is not done in the Empire, but is done by their enemies. This training also instructs her to give no quarter, and slay all enemies. Despite that training, Suvi had been considering allowing this woman to live, believing the possession was involuntary. However, seeing this sigil changes her mind, and she slays Emliss without another thought.

Ame misses that moment, as she is being healed. When she is somewhat recovered, she approaches Suvi. Suvi seems unusually calm after having killed this woman, and Ame asks her about it. Suvi tries to play it off, but Ame persists, and Suvi coldly tells her to back off. Ame tries again, confessing her own emotional wounds and encouraging Suvi to seek help for hers. Suvi smiles condescendingly.

Part 2
The crew discovers their captain has been slain, and fear for their own lives. Suvi asks (in Rhuvian) how many of them are from Rhuv, but none of them appear to be. Ame tries to soothe the crew; though she missteps a little in speaking of the captain as someone kind and pleasant to work under (which she was not), the crew senses Ame's good nature, which seems to be enough to calm them.

As Ame goes to give Emliss an impromptu funeral rite, Suvi stops her. The two argue over what should be done, Suvi treating the body with cold prejudice, and Ame arguing for mercy. Eursulon engages the crew as a distraction; he awards ownership of the Roan to a crewmate named Madge. Madge asks for some kind of certificate from Suvi, to which Eursulon agrees -- as soon as they arrive in Port Talon. He then rejoins Suvi and Ame, who are still arguing about what's to be done with the captain's body. Ame explains that treating the body humanely is something she needs, for her own sake. Suvi reluctantly agrees, but tells Ame to never again contradict her in front of strangers. This doesn't sit well with Ame, but there is a funeral rite to perform.

The funeral rite conjures witchfire to consume the body immediately into ashes, leaving no damage where the body rested. The soul left behind is carried to the beyond.

The fox, moved by this sight, leaps into Ame's arms. Ame apologizes to him for her earlier frustration, but the fox lets her off the hook.

Elsewhere on the deck, Eursulon approaches Suvi. They discuss the lingering effects of the shadow's attacks, and agree it's most likely temporary. Suvi lets off a little steam at Ame's decision to show mercy to someone who hurt Eursulon, and rather than take sides, Eursulon simply lays a hand on her shoulder. Suvi asks if he's ever killed anyone, and Eursulon says he's hurt people before, and it's never easy. Suvi goes quiet and withdrawn.

Their ship, the Roan, arrives at Port Talon in the pre-dawn hours the next morning. The Azure Battalion has several ships in harbor, and there are many columns of smoke rising into the air, seemingly from controlled fires. Both Eursulon and Ame note a noxious smell in the air associated with this smoke, which Ame is able to identify as witchcraft -- in particular, salt fire, which is intended to dispel magic. She knows its normal use is to drive a curse out of a space, and that doing so renders the space temporarily barren. But the amount of salt fire needed to accomplish that goal is tiny compared to the vast amount she sees here. Eursulon in particular finds this smell unpleasant; it makes him queasy. He notes this smoke wasn't in play the last time he was here. Suvi doesn't notice it until her attention is drawn to it, and though she mirrors her friends' distaste, to her it just smells like smoke.

At Captain Madge's prompting, Suvi writes her a note on Citadel letterhead. As the three friends leave the Roan, Suvi smugly adjusts her brooch in a way that signifies she has spilled blood in defense of the Empire. Ame notes the unpleasant feel to what's happened, but Suvi doesn't explain, and Ame doesn't ask.

Eursulon leads the group to the place he last interacted with Finley. As they walk, Ame asks Eursulon about the circumstances that led him to give away Wavebreaker. Though it's an uncomfortable topic, Eursulon explains that Finley figured out Eursulon was a spirit, and threatened to tell others. Eursulon, knowing that this could mean bounty hunters or worse, used Wavebreaker to buy Finley's silence. Though Eursulon had carried some guilt about this, Ame calls Finley a blackmailer and puts the blame entirely on him. This puts Eursulon at ease, and he regains some verve as they continue toward the hedge mage's house.

As they move through the town, Ame senses that the people are not welcoming to strangers, that they do not need to be in community with one another in order to survive, which feels alien and dangerous to her. As they pass into the older Greyhill neighborhood toward the top of the hill, Suvi sees a wall enclosing it, which she sees is formed of spellcraft. The salt fire smoke comes from inside this partitioned neighborhood.

At Finley's house, Eursulon shouts his name and bangs on the door, projecting his newfound confidence. Though there is no response, the group hears metal clatter for a moment. Eursulon calls out again, several times, to no response, but there is a faint sound of glass breaking. The group eventually gets the door open, and they find what appears to be a dark, messy pawn shop that strips magical items for their component parts. On the floor amongst this detritus is the corpse of Finley, who has been recently murdered. He is dressed in a patchwork quilted robe and wizard hat, and a look of horror is frozen on his face. On the far side of the room, a shattered piece of a broken window falls to the floor, suggesting someone has just escaped that way.

Main Player characters

 * Suvi
 * Ame
 * Eursulon

Returning

 * The Fox
 * Captain Emliss

New

 * Captain Madge
 * Finley

Mentioned

 * Governor of Port Talon