- Rafiq: Game Master

- Haikal: Zel'eon Talos, Human Enhanced Artificer 4

- Buzz: Senzorin Talos, Half-Elf Arcane Trickster Rogue 4

The four of them piled into the newly restored Talos, while Senzorin took to his motorcycle. Setting out for an early dinner, they emerged onto the suburban streets of Arbalest, where the neighbourhood's families milled about, enjoying the weekend.

As they sped down the road, Senzorin spotted Ellipses in his garden and couldn’t resist shouting, “Where's my plants?” before they rode off. Senzorin suggested dining at the Iron Horse Tavern, but Arche playfully threatened to cast Purify Food and Drink on his beers, rendering them non-alcoholic. Senzorin’s retort came swiftly: “I’ll beat your motherfucking ass under the table.” In the end, they settled on Tom’s Diner in Greenwich.

Arche stood ready, her black mask and form-fitting mithril bodysuit glimmering eerily beneath the emerging moonlight. Zel'eon dressed simply in a white shirt and black pants, forgoing his usual jacket.

With a sudden burst of energy, Zel'eon extended his wings wide, the metal glinting in the moonlight just before he lunged forward, arm blade slashing across Arche’s chest, leaving a sheet of frost spreading out from the rent in her clothing. Arche sprang back, her left hand raised as a spear of pure moonlight coalesced within her grip, radiating a soft, ethereal glow.

Saziver leaned forward in his chair, eyes alight with excitement, while Senzorin's attention was focused on a lone janitor who had paused his cleaning duties to watch the fight.

Arche lunged forward, attacking Zel'eon twice—first with her sword and then with the conjured spear. The clang of metal against steel echoed as Zel'eon was pushed back, but he quickly regained his footing, extending his right wing to stabilize himself. He retaliated with a sweeping strike, his arm blade trailing wisps of ice through the air.

Arche wasn’t deterred. This time, she pierced forward with her spear, the tip aimed directly at Zel’eon’s chest. The weapon struck true, driving into him. He grunted in pain but did not retreat; instead, he gripped the spear’s haft, pulling himself closer while extending his free hand toward her.

With a crackle of blue electricity, Zel'eon touched Arche's armored plating, causing arcs of energy to leap from him to her. The jolting current forced her to recoil with a gasp. Dropping her sword, she clenched her fist, gathering white moonlight within it.

Stepping forward, she struck Zel'eon squarely in the face, the force of her punch lifting him clean off the ground. He flew backward, landing heavily.

Shock washed over Arche as she realized the impact of her blow. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, what the fuck?” she exclaimed, rushing to his side.

“That was sick as fuck!” Saziver cackled, filling the air with his exuberant cheer from the sidelines.

Quickly, Arche knelt beside Zel'eon, her hands hovering over him as she began to invoke her healing magic. The air glimmered as she channeled her energy, urging him back to consciousness.

As they brought Zel'eon to the infirmary, the group made use of one of the EchoTech MediPods—a magitech device with the ability to diagnose and heal injuries almost instantaneously. Arche’s apologies kept coming as Senzorin chuckled, “Don’t be sorry; he did this to me last week.”

While the machine pulsed with healing energy, Zel'eon gazed out the window, watching the janitor cleaning away the remnants of their spirited sparring match. Thoughts whirled in his mind as he analyzed the battle, questioning where he had faltered. He recognized that some foes, like Arche, would boast formidable physical defenses, and he would need to diversify his combat skills to counter such challenges in the future.

At that moment, Senzorin's phone chimed, breaking his concentration. He glanced at the screen and saw it was a call from Jonathan. He considered the invitation to join them briefly before deciding, “I’ll go ahead.”

Jonathan stayed glued to Senzorin's side the entire night as Senzorin learned more about their respective studies. Jonathan detailed his newfound love of arbormancy, the study of magical botany—a field he had initially embraced to follow in his father's footsteps as an executive at Sylvan Corporation. Jack talked about studying combat magic as he explained his aspirations to become a spellsword, while Gemma described her relatively obscure field of arithmancy, a field of study that explored the relationship between mathematics and magic. K’lai, who studied divine magic at the university, talked about the rise of rates of Aasimar in Ilrinia—a trend she speculated was linked to the city's position on a convergence of leylines.

"The Council of Arcaneum established itself here centuries ago for precisely that reason," K’lai stated, explaining how this intersection of leylines made Ilrinia a crucible for powerful magic.

An odd sensation flickered within Senzorin's mind as he listened, nudging some dormant memory toward the surface. He recalled, though drunkenly, tales from his childhood hinting at the Council's founding being shrouded in a more sinister mystery—some incident long forgotten. A piece of knowledge that, like the fragmented memories of his life before he ran away to Mosskach, remained out of reach.

The waning night saw the group gradually dispersing, and eventually, Senzorin found himself departing with Jonathan, as they staggered towards the Platinum Tower.

Arriving at the Ralston penthouse, Senzorin hesitated momentarily at the threshold. His heart quickened as he caught sight of Jonathan’s father, Victor Ralston, reclined comfortably on the couch.

As discussed, Zel'eon met Dalen Blackwell at his office, learning more about what Artificers are able to do. Dalen highlighted potential pathways for improvement, fuelling Zel'eon's determination for more ways to improve himself.

Senzorin seized the opportunity to develop his relationship with Jonathan Ralston; he spent most of the nights together with Jonathan, either at his penthouse or in Senzorin's own room.

Arche spent some time at the National Library going through the free archival course, accompanied by the courses other attendants, who Arche found happened to be from all walks of life and all ages - a testament to the Ilrinian drive for self-improvement.

Saziver continued studying hard for his upcoming examinations, focusing on his chosen subject combination of engineering mathematics, business and finance, basic elvish, technomancy, and psionics, the last of which he spent a day each week training under the Arbalest Academy principal, John de Bolbec.

Turning her gaze to the sky every night, Arche wondered how she could spread word of Ruatis among the populace. Briefly considering printing out flyers to put up around the city, she had a flash of inspiration - if she could reconnect with her estranged father, the governor of Ilrinia, she could lean on his political power to spread the word of her god. With this in mind, she enlisted Saziver to help research her father, finding out that he was up for re-election soon, and planned to hold a rally on the 12th of Lunaris.

Zel'eon also decided to work on enhancing the newly restored Talos Sovereign, kitting it out with reupholstered leather seating and a seat warming system. He borrowed Saziver and the pair worked on an autopiloting navigation system, managing to install a tablet into the central console that could extend a cable that plugged into a port Zel'eon implanted on his body, to give him the ability to control the car without having to drive it manually. Though the autopilot function did not get finished just yet, Zel'eon planned on submitting it as a final year project in his design and technology class.

Senzorin also spent some time building a relationship with Ilrinia's underworld elements, making his face known to the Thieves' Guild.

Zel'eon also decided to lean on Senzorin's criminal connections and his own research, finding a potential pit fighting club, patronised mainly by the rich and powerful, hidden within a small warehouse in Ham Row.

Senzorin, not wanting his combat capabilities to fall to the wayside during this period, trained hard at increasing his prowess, focusing on trying to use the magitech revolver more efficiently. He discovered his ability to use it to cast fire, ice, or lightning elemental bolts, and recognised these base elements as being building blocks to potentially cast even more damaging effects through the gun.

Saziver, in his studies with Principal de Bolbec, found that he seemed to not be a powerful psion (like Saziver had the potential to be) himself, but still knew how to train one. Saziver began practising how to read an enemy's mind and body language to predict what they were going to do next.

Throughout this period, Zel'eon, still reminded of his loss against Arche, began plans to install sub-dermal armor plating to enable him to fight more offensively. Recognising the best material to him at the moment, steel, would still be sub-par compared to orichalcum, he decided to wait until he was able to procure some.

Arche also joined the rest in training her combat skills, practising every night under the moon on using her spear in tandem with her sword and her magic. She began to think on how she could develop her worship of Ruatis even more with her combat, coming up with plans to manufacture a tip for her collapsible elven spear out of moon rock.

Slipping out from the cocoon of her blankets, Arche stretched, her blue moon pajamas striking a playful contrast against the muted hues of her room. Glancing around, she took in her surroundings: her double bladed sword leaning against the wall, her armored bodysuit draped across a chair, and the plastic gun, made for her by Zel'eon, sitting on her desk. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she padded down the staircase, as the morning sun streamed through the windows of the stairwell.

As she descended, a sudden choir of voices caught her off guard. Her friends had gathered to serenade her, singing her happy birthday loudly and off-key. In the center of it all stood Saziver proudly bearing a cake shaped like the moon.

The unmistakable sound of a door creaking open echoed from above, and a box floated down the staircase, suspended by Senzorin's telekinesis, coming to a stop in front of Arche.

She unwrapped the box, and saw Senzorin's present for her: a disco ball-sized steel full moon, forged by Senzorin in the forges of the Avjarn. Tears misted Arche's eyes as she reached out to pat Senzorin's head, her gratitude spilling into words. “Thank you.” Overcome by emotion, she dashed back upstairs, securing the moon above her bed.

Next up was a rectangular box from Zel'eon, carefully wrapped and waiting eagerly for her touch. Inside lay an ornamental rapier, also crafted in the Avjarn's forges, bearing the elvish symbol of the moon. Zel'eon cautioned her against using it for combat, but Arche thanked him nonetheless, stating that it was beautiful.

Saziver decided to finish the celebration with his own gift for Arche. “Do you have your tablet with you?” he asked, his fingers already dancing over the screen of his own device. Arche nodded, not knowing what to expect. A moment later, her own tablet vibrated, and she discovered Saziver had crafted an entire new lunar theme. She saw that Saziver had added widgets showcasing the moon's phases and little moon icons for each of her apps.

Once the cake was devoured, the atmosphere shifted. Arche cleared her throat, her smile fading slightly as she glanced at her friends. “I might need your help with something later,” she began, telling them about the rally for Anderson Ortlinde for his upcoming gubernatorial re-election. She planned to use this public appearance to reconnect with her estranged father.

Arche’s heart raced as she adjusted her own suit, a pair of sunglasses and a mask concealing her face—a precaution against being recognised by her father. Meanwhile, Saziver, wearing a three-piece navy suit almost too large for his small frame, stood with an anxious energy, glancing back at the throng of supporters already gathering outside. Street vendors already filled the area, hawking wares and street food.

The youth home’s front was adorned with two large banners emblazoned with "Vote Ortlinde!" above a stylized depiction of the governor—a pale elf with jet-black hair and vaguely Caucasian features, staring out with a warm smile. As they stepped into the building, they were met with a expansive multipurpose hall, packed with attendees. Bright sunlight streamed through the wide glass windows, illuminating the faces of eager citizens, many of whom cheerfully waved signs in support of the governor. A stage stood at the far end, a lectern waiting for its occupant.

A tremor of anxiety crept into Arche’s heart. She turned to her friends, her voice a whisper in the crowded hall. "Guys, I'm kind of getting second thoughts." The group shared concerned glances, briefly discussing various strategies to facilitate a private meeting with the governor, including the possibility of sending a message or keeping Arche hidden in the car. Yet, the consensus was to withstand the overwhelming tide of the gathering, deciding they would not disrupt the event.

Taking a more proactive stance, Saziver activated his AR glasses and began typing fervently, immersed in the virtual interface of his own design. The others form a circle around Saziver, trying to shield him from prying eyes as he types away, thoroughly absorbed in his task.

Saziver quickly succeeded in breaching the building’s security systems and accessed the surveillance crystals, flicking through the various camera feeds. As he scrutinized the crowd, an observation came to mind—an unusually high proportion of wood elves filled the hall. Where he would expect a mere 1%, nearly 10% of the rally attendees appeared to be wood elves, clad in ill-fitting suits.

He flipped his screens to the backstage feed. There, he saw Governor Ortlinde standing beside his wife, Aurora Ortlinde—Arche's mother. Sitting in a wheelchair, Aurora was beautiful even in her stillness, her bright blonde hair and golden skin dreamlike even in the darkness backstage. Yet, she sat utterly motionless, unresponsive to her husband gently patting her back.

Governor Ortlinde, nominally a sun elf, looked odd with his black hair, pale skin, and grey eyes, thought the group was used to such features from Arche. He was clad in a bright blue three-piece suit - the colors affiliated with the Council of Aenyrathia. Saziver tried to reach out psionically to sense Aurora’s emotional state; however, the distance hindered his abilities. Yet, he manages to make a faint connection through the video feed, and managed to make a tenuous connection.

Suddenly, despair flooded his senses. Aurora’s psyche radiated a suffocating darkness, an impenetrable void of depression that enveloped a core of tightly locked emotions. Overcome by this powerful rush, Saziver felt a tear escape his eye as he withdrew from her mind, revealing his findings to the group with a shaky voice.

Arche’s expression darkened as she nodded slowly, tears brimming in her eyes, explaining how her mother had been in this state since her brother was kidnapped a decade ago, "She completely withdrew from everything, stopped talking to me or my dad—even not eating or drinking anything for a while.” The group offered assurances that all would be well when Arche talked to her, but Arche remained doubtful that her mother would even react to her.

As they continued to monitor the feed, Saziver saw a sun elf woman who approached Governor Ortlinde backstage, her words inaudible. The governor responded with a nod, adjusted his tie, and soon stepped out of sight.

The team shifted their attention back to the stage as Governor Ortlinde emerged to a round of applause. The hall lit up with camera flashes as the clamor of reporters begin to rise. Raising his hand, he called for silence, flashing his signature smile.

“Citizens of Ilrinia. It is a pleasure to see you once again. I welcome you to the start of this race for re-election that I am participating in once again. I hope you have enjoyed my first term. I have reduced homelessness, improved education, provided free lunches to every child in Ilrinia, and opened this beautiful place,” he gestured expansively toward the Youth Home, eliciting a wave of cheers and applause from the audience.

Saziver noticed something alarming: among the applause, only the wood elves stood motionless, remaining still in their ill-fitting suits, a stark contrast to the jubilation around them.

As Governor Ortlinde continued his address, informing the citizens of his dedication to their well-being, Saziver observed one of the lion-maned wood elves standing close to them reach into his pocket. The elf’s action was mirrored by the others, who began to produce small glass spheres filled with a swirling, ominous mist, putting on face masks with their free hands.

Panic gripped Saziver as he quietly tells the group what is happening and to get ready.

The lion-maned wood elf, his expression resolute, prepared to crush the glass sphere in his grasp. Just as his fingers tightened, ready to unleash the gas, Saziver Copper-Fern acted. The nervous energy thrumming through him surged towards the elf, and he reached into the depths of the wood elf's mind, grasping it tightly, and wrung it like a sponge. Saziver leapt forward, snatching the glass sphere from the elf’s hand before it could shatter. The wood elf looked dumbly at his empty palm as panic swept through the hall.

Around them, the other wood elves each shattered glass spheres of their own. The gas began to spread like wildfire among the unsuspecting crowd, who choked and clutched at their throats, some collapsing to the ground, faces contorted in shock and horror. Desperation ignited in Zel’eon Talos’ heart. Swiftly discarding his jacket, he spread his metal wings wide, glinting in the light. With a mighty flap, he summoned a gust of wind that pushed the gas away, offering a brief reprieve to those nearest him. But as he gazed at the gas curling up against the tightly sealed windows, he understood that this was merely a temporary solution; if an escape route for both the gas and the civilians wasn't created soon, the hall would become a tomb.

And so Zel'eon aimed his arm cannon, its electronic circuitry harmonizing with his intent, and fired a ball bearing at one of the windows. The glass shattered and a few dazed citizens leaned out, gasping for the fresh air that escaped into the ether. But still, more were falling. He glanced back to see yellow runic barriers emerge around the hall brought forth by Council mages, garbed in deep blue gilded robes, straining under the effort of maintaining such a protective radius. They shouted frantically, urging the frightened attendees to shelter within.

Senzorin Talos navigated the throng of panicked citizens like a shadow. Making a beeline for Governor Ortlinde, he evaded the gas that threatened to choke and disable him. As he weaved through the crowd, so did his bullets, eliciting soft thuds as he slew the terrorists where they stood around the hall.

As graceful as moonlight, Arche Kagekiyo slew two of the terrorists with spear through the chest before they even noticed her, making her way to the exit doors. Noticing the poison gas creeping up by the exit, threatening to block it off for the civilians, she withdrew her ceramic gun and placed it against her temple, eyes closed. Pulling the trigger, the people surrounding her watched in shock and awe as white crystal shards exploded from the wound, and Arche's eyes snapped open, glowing pure silver. A massive sphere of moonlight erupted out from her, surrounding the civilians and negating the effects of the poison gas. "Who... Who are you?" a stunned spectator finally asked. “Arche Kagekiyo,” she proclaimed, her voice resonating with strength amid the wreckage, “High Priestess of Ruatis.”

Saziver's mind-control still gripped the first wood elf, pressing him with, "Why are you attacking us?", hoping to find some reason for this attack. "Well, you guys killed a patron-beast!" the elf replied, a dopey grin plastered on his face, oblivious to the gravity of his words.

As Governor Ortlinde stood surrounded by two bodyguards at the front of the hall, five wood elf terrorists descended, their intentions clear as they bore down upon him. As Senzorin made his way towards the governor, the terrorists took down one of the bodyguards, forcing the governor to engage with two of the terrorists directly.

Divorcing himself from the melee, Zel’eon took flight. He focused on shattering the remaining windows, generating wind with each flap of his wings. As he smashed each pane of glass, he felt the wind pick up as the Council mages rallied behind him, their spells tearing a rent in the gas wide enough for the civilians to escape.

Saziver continued pressing his charmed wood elf, but at the sight of some poison gas spreading towards them, the charmed elf widened his eyes in surprise, grabbing Saziver and leaping out of a nearby window.

As all the window panes stood broken and shattered, so did the morale of the wood elf terrorists as they watched the poison gas leak out of the hall. Growling, they turned to the governor and began moving toward him, at least trying to achieve their secondary objective of assassinating him. Alas, some of them would never reach the governor alive, as Senzorin shot them in the back, they fell slain to the floor of the Ortlinde Youth Home, as Senzorin stepped over their bodies to help the governor and his remaining bodyguard fend off the remaining attack.

At the front of the hall, Arche still defended the escaping civilians, emanating a silvery glow as a wood elf terrorist rushed up to disable her. With a hand, Arche reached out and tapped her on his shoulder, and she stepped back with a look of fear on her face as black veins spread throughout her body. Arche hears a voice in her mind, sounding like pure moonlight. She watches as the wood elf's body swells, and she heard Ruatis tell her: "Happy birthday, dear.", as the terrorist's body implodes into black goo.

Zel'eon took off towards the governor at top speed, noting Senzorin dispatching three of the remaining terrorists alongside the governor's bodyguard. He landed behind one of the remaining terrorists engaging the governor directly, and drew their ire by slashing at them with his arm blade, drawing a nod of gratitude from Governor Ortlinde.

As the terrorist in front of Governor Anderson Ortlinde lunged forwards, teeth bared, he reacted by striking them in the nose with a powerful jab, but instead of letting the terrorist stumble back in pain, he grabbed them by the collar, pulling them back with his left hand and delivering an uppercut to the terrorist's chin with his right, sending a resounding CRK-CRACK! through the emptying hall.

Zel'eon immediately noted the similarity to Arche's finishing punch against him a couple of weeks ago, and decided to try it out himself. As he sheathed his arm blade with a thought, he gathered electric blue energy in his right fist, and slammed it into the remaining terrorist's face, knocking him out cold. The governor let out a low whistle showing his appreciation for the move and telling Zel'eon, "Nice one, son."

As a single solitary wood elf stood in the middle of the hall, realising he was the only one left alive, he steeled his jaw in resolution. He turned to face the fleeing citizens and aimed his pistol, trying to cause as much damage as possible before he went, but the gun's trigger would never depress. The elf reached up and grasped at his neck as he choked out his last breath, his neck frozen solid. Behind him, Senzorin aimed his revolver, this time firing a normal bullet as opposed to a bolt of ice, shattering the last terrorist's neck and sending his severed head arcing through the air.

The team gains 1000 experience points for their their efforts in foiling the rally as well as the encounters throughout the end of Mistfall leading into Lunaris. The team is now at 5200xp from 4200. Happy birthday Arche!