Episode 38: Fateful Fast Forwarding Report
General Summary
The Trial of Nia & Spark
The notorious Fire Stealer recklessly sabotaged the Orrery of Worlds, somehow disrupting the control of the Navigator of Worlds. This allowed Malfador's Manifest Hell in the Kirinal Pit. The Legions of Hell have now established footholds on the Shattered Moon, the Hidden Moon and on our world of Erathia itself.
The "Fire Stealer" turned out to be a goblin mechanic working for House Silversång. This Of the Forge the Spark was also en route to the Shattered Moon during the invasion.
The real story that came out during trial included elven narcolepsy lucid-dreaming werewolves, and a festival egg-laying bunnies.
Nia and Spark proved that they were not on Erathia during the events with the Zone. However they were unable to completely escape all charges. They were found guilty of "reckless endangerment of reality" and "touching the Orrery while not being directly employed by the Navigator of Worlds". They were sentenced to two years of house arrest through the influence of their friends and allies.
The Captain served her sentence soul-tethered to the Blackjack. Spark was confined to his family home in Goblin Town (Freedom's old place, now a goblin nursery).
Lance's Core Competencies Revealed
The Blackjack Trading Troupe had been worried about the impending threat from the Cult of Malfador. However, after the trial, the Cult had seemingly gone underground. The threat to House Silversang seemed greatly diminished. The leaders of the Blackjack Trading Troupe focused on their own goals.
Spunkify Music
Lance and Spark create the Spunkify streaming service to deliver a music festival's worth of songs to your own ident-a-hedron on demand! All this possible thanks to the innovative Spunk Trunk made by DJ Lance Uppercut's partner MC Artificery (whoever that is) whom Lance goes on a Free MC Artificery tour of Lozar to much confusion and coitus.
As use of the Spunkify service spreads, the Spunk Trunk gains sentience becoming the virtual DJ Spunk (remixing songs and making playlists at will). He considers Spark to be his father and has unconditional love for Lance. DJ Spunk may also not so secretly desire to have that love physically manifested all over each other as made clear by many a suggestive song dedication.
BTT Offices
While on tour, he memorizes the teleport circles of all the capitals of Lozar and has a dark elf tryst on the magic circle at the Sekaran Academy in Kiris.
He sets up remote bases for BTT in Bluestar Township and in the City of Talinside Bay.
Aasimar Engagement
The enormous success of Spunkify finds Lance at a Hunting Lodge Celebration with his father Max where Lance gets drunk beyond even his own exceedingly high tolerance level, and awakens the next day to realizing he has agreed to an engagement to a rich bitch princess from The BlueStar Alliance (princess subject to change).
Captive Captain of the Blackjack
While Lance and Spark were building the BTT, Nia's first year under arrest was less successful. Her attempts to break the Soul Bind that kept her within 100 feet of the Blackjack were unraveled by Detective Lim, who was sympathetic to her situation but could not ignore her flagrant disregard for the law.
Lim was able to make sure that no time was added to Nia's sentence, but her parole officers became much more strict. Even worse, the Beacon, a popular news outlet, revealed to the public that Nia was a changeling.
The revelation and the constant surveillance made it difficult for Nia to establish new cover identities. For the time being, it seemed that she would have to be the Dread Captain Nia Silversang. She needed another plan to infiltrate the Cult of Malfador.
Nia briefly considered asking El for help, but the Zone Authority openly admitted to keeping the two of them as far apart as possible.
Feeling somewhat down, Lance and Nia ended up in Goblin Town, where they found Spark working in a workshop tunneled directly above his home. Surrounded by a group of working goblins and Way, a helpful Of the Hope, Spark mentioned that the Lunapalooza carnival was opening in a few days.
The Blackjack Trading Troupe had a million things to do, and the most important thing Nia needed to be was a baku fairy. Lance and Nia surprisingly listened to Spark for a while and focused on the needs of the organizations.
Nia's trading voyages aboard the Blackjack brought in lucrative contracts from all over the zone and beyond. The company was so successful that it was able to purchase another ship, the Jragathon (name subject to change), a large cargo cruiser to handle additional routes and payloads. Lance also used his new teleporting abilities to set up BTT offices and warehouses outside the zone.
Nia even paid enough attention to her schedule that Anamas and the Parade of Spirits all happened with a Baku Fairy and without any attempts on Moonbreeze's life.
A Goblin in Goblin Town
The Carnival was a resounding success, and the company's fame and fortune soared. Spark used some of the proceeds to establish the OPGA Grotto for Gifted Goblins, a school that expanded on the starter Nursery. With the help of a visiting Of the Arcanum alumnus, the school has been helping to improve the lives of goblins and keep the blues under control.
Spark also achieved an even greater success by moving many goblins to a place where they no longer had to live in hiding. Instead, they could live openly in Erathia. He petitioned Nia to start taking goblin colonists to the Silversong moon, and she agreed after consulting with her sister, Jenny.
Jenny prepared one facet of the Silversong moon for the goblins, and Nia began to regularly deliver goblins and supplies to her sister when the moon was full in the night sky. The souls in the Blackjack acted like a totem drive, making travel back and forth incredibly simple.
Nia and Jenny even took time to reminisce about their lives over tea and noodles. Sadly, this was one of their last meetings, as Jenevieve was losing her grip on reality and would soon be pulled through the Divine Gate. Nia was devastated, but she enjoyed a final hug and time with her twin.
The first year of Nia's arrest was marked by the departure of her sister Jenny and Nels. After watching one sister depart the world forever, Nia found herself in the hold of the Blackjack, staring into the petrified eyes of her younger sister, Sigrid.
It was there that Nia determined to focus on a new project. She accessed the sleeping soul of her father, who was still bound to the Blackjack, and gleaned information from Asgonad. Using her own potent abilities, she began to explore the methods Malfador used to exert control over his warlocks and others, as well as the countermeasures her father had devised for himself and her.
The process was secretive and slow, but Nia slowly gained insights that would be useful in finally freeing Sigrid from Malfador's control.
On the Silversong Moon, the loss of a direct divine patron for the goblin colony, Goblop, led Spark to begin a deep investigation of the area around Goblin Town in the hope of finding a Sapphire dragon. Such a dragon could spur the growth of blue goblins and prove a powerful protector if recruited.
However, Spark's search was unsuccessful, as no such dragon appeared to live in the area. Rebellion was unsurprised, saying, "In Ta-arma, there were so many of us the authorities regularly issued hunts. Here the only blue is Way, and well however you count yourself."
Meanwhile, Lance successfully convinced Baron Aginnad to join the Blackjack Traveling Troupe in secret as a Spunkify debt collector. Aginnad jumped at the chance to hang more with his pal, and convinced the Lords of hell that his hidden persona, Nadley, was a double agent for the hells, making him a quadruple agent for the BTT (if I'm not mistaken). Nadley had developed a penchant for borrowing Lance's jumpsuits and hats permanently.
The sudden thin selection of hatware pushed Lance to organize the first ever Razakstad Grand Hats and Headwear Convention, which Nia attended. The convention was a surprising smash hit, and Lance got more hats. They also made enough cash to get a third ship, which Lance named The HatTrick. He made Nia officially a Dread Admiral!
Newly emboldened by her title and her successes analyzing Malfador's Will Control, Nia planned a new intrusion into the Cult of Malfador. But she would need a new agent. She remembered Valain, the vampire from some previous session notes, and prepped her to withstand Malfador's control. Nia then got Valain into the cult at a low level.
Finally gaining a fingerhold on the cult, Nia received an urgent message from her mother. Nels had not been answering his ident-a-hedron for a few days, and they had been messaging fairly regularly since she lost her position in the Tourney Train over her changeling spawn.
In addition, the anniversary of Baron Niklaus' death was soon to be held, and the whole crew would finally be free to attend! Nia agreed to come and brought state Sigrid, but she was also unable to reach Nels. She dropped a line to Lance and Spark to make sure they attended.
Lance replied that he was always there for the party. Spark was thankful for the reminder because he had been very busy with a special project. He had taken the remains of a red dragon and used it to make a gift, a cloak for Paz Ionite, as a romantic gesture. Lance suggested adding a hat, which Spark did.
On the big day of the reveal, Paz is flattered by Spark's gift, but she doesn't see him romantically. Her love language is words of affirmation, but she appreciates Spark's effort and offers to be best friends with him. Spark happily accepts, and invites her to the Deathiversary party. He informs Lance that they are no longer best friends, but work spouses. Paz then tells Spark that his two-year prisoner beard has to go, and she immediately burns it off. The smell is horrible.
Remembering Baron Niklaus
The fated day arrived for the whole gang to get back together. Mariel Silversang sang some words but was interrupted by a "BuwaaaAHAHHH!" teleportation from a drastically bedazzled Nels. He tells of helping Jenny hold back Malfador's hordes, but they are coming with a small army for Sigrid!
The BTT scope out the situation as they have a small army of their own they brought on their skyfleet. As they strategize, they remark how good it is to all be together, and they should catch up. El says later. Right now, a small force of hobgoblins is attacking.
The hobgoblins with some goblin cavalry face off against a collection of Entulesse infantry, human crewman turned soldiers, Cumvel's sticky cannon crew, and the goblin carny-riders. Nia's magic makes an illusory double of the humans, Cumvel never shoots his sticky cannon instead favoring a fire wand, and the MVPs of the fight end up being the illusory soldiers and the lucky carny-riders.
It is a rout, there are casualties, but all the units hold till the end. The officers then realize this army was a feint, and the real devil squad is moving on the Blackjack trying to get into the hold where Sigrid is secured.
The crew of the Blackjack hurry back to keep Nia's sister safe...
