The Unbalanced Choice

The party, consisting of Kilijan, Weneon, Sagiatto, and Greg, found themselves in Camp Zovik. Their troops had just arrived with Tamil and Taylor from Revilon, making their way through Lesnina forest. The harengon army could be seen in the distance, facing Elminster’s tower. Tamil began the work of setting up the camp with the accompanying workers. The party members sought out their second in commands to discuss the current situation. Kilijan approached Elois, who asked him how the troops should address their leader. Kilijan told Elois to instruct them to call him “Marshal.” He then informed Elois that the troops’ motto would be, “Smite the line.” Weneon spoke with Galrog, his Goliath second in command, but their conversation was soon interrupted. Lira, a half-elf and leader of the thieves’ guild in Revillon, inserted herself into their discussion. She stated her intention to act as Weneon’s third in command for the army. Lira also informed Weneon that they needed to speak later about Elminster’s tower, as she possessed pertinent information. Greg moved to converse with his second in command, an eladrin religious fanatic named Leo. Sagiatto engaged Draxion, his second in command, in a tactical discussion. After they had reviewed the strategy, Draxion mentioned that someone had been looking for Sagiatto. Draxion identified the individual as a bounty hunter with the same name as himself. Sagiatto asked for more details about the bounty hunter. Draxion then gave a signal to some rangers from Sagiatto’s army. The rangers promptly dragged a captured bounty hunter forward and presented him before Sagiatto. Sagiatto recognized the man as Glatio, a former companion. He retrieved a death whistle from Glatio. Sagiatto then gave orders for Glatio to be discreetly murdered in the surrounding forests.

After discussing their tactics with their second in commands, the party returned to Camp Zovik and spoke with General Taylor. General Taylor presented Kilijan with the clockwork armor Kilijan had previously requested. Kilijan reciprocated the gesture, offering General Taylor two bottles of fine wine. Kilijan then suggested they send someone to initiate talks with the harengon, but General Taylor advised patience, proposing they wait to see if the harengon would make the first move. Soon after, a figure appeared in the distance. The party instructed their armies to stand down as the figure approached, revealing itself to be Loop and Break, two cyborgs belonging to Selena. A larger construct, Bug, also accompanied them. Loop, the female maid cyborg, urgently requested assistance, explaining they could not extract Selena from Bug's cockpit. Kilijan immediately attempted to pry open the cockpit, noticing Selena appeared to be dying inside. Greg then shouted to Kilijan, urging him to use a vortex warp spell to extract Selena. Kilijan complied, casting the spell, and Greg promptly administered first aid, which saved Selena's life. Selena informed the party that she had been surrounded by harengon forces while attempting to approach the tower, and had abruptly lost consciousness. She added that the harengon armies possessed both wyverns and spellcasters. Selena then interrupted herself, stating Bug required repairs. Kilijan approached her and attempted to kiss her, but Selena pushed him away, exclaiming, "What the fuck?" General Taylor suggested Selena should be taken to Tamil for further interrogation regarding the information she possessed. Before Selena departed for Tamil, she revealed that Flora served as the leader general of the harengon army, and that Flora was accompanied by a monstrous Goliath harengon. Loop and Break clarified that Selena had insisted on proceeding on foot towards Elminster's tower alone. Break had then made the decision to knock Selena unconscious and seal her inside Bug to facilitate their retreat from the surrounding harengon army.

Taylor, Weneon, Greg, and Sagiatto made a bit of fun of Kilijan after he attempted to kiss Selena without warning. Kilijan defended his actions, claiming that Manasa had suggested such an approach when dealing with women. Weneon then asked Kilijan if he was not in a relationship with Zendekay, which prompted Taylor to discuss Zendekay. Taylor revealed that Zendekay had once been part of his crew on the material plane, and that Serge, his second in command, had recruited her as navigator. Taylor also informed Greg that Frul had arrived at the Southern Outpost with his two companies for a reconnaissance operation. Frul, Greg’s brother, had also left an heirloom of their grandfather for Greg in Brqua. Before they could continue their conversation, night had fallen, and they proceeded to get some drinks at the improvised tavern in Camp Zovik. Taylor mentioned that the bartender, a retired captain of the guards from Baldur’s Gate, had something that might be of help to them. They made their way to the camp’s tavern and met Brix, the bartender. After a brief introduction, Brix presented his most prized possession, a Deck of Many Things. The entire party was visibly shocked and expressed no desire to interact with the object. Taylor did not know what the Deck was, so Kilijan and Weneon explained that drawing a card from it could be very dangerous. Despite the warnings, Greg proceeded to draw a card. He drew the Balance card, which instantly reverted his alignment. Taylor became furious with Greg's recklessness in drawing the card at all. He slapped Greg twice across the face. Greg pushed away from the table. "I am leaving the party," he declared before he walked away. Kilijan and Sagiatto went after him. Weneon remained with Taylor, who stated that he could not understand Greg’s erratic behavior.

Kilijan finally caught up with Greg and challenged him to a duel in the rain at Camp Zovik. Bystanders began to gather, but Sagiatto moved through the crowd and sent them away, explaining there was nothing to see. Greg seemed unwilling to fight Kilijan. He took a fork from his pocket and stated it came from the material plane. Greg then announced he would go there and promptly teleported himself away using Plane Shift. Kilijan immediately cast a Sending spell to reach Greg. He delivered a message urging Greg to return and fight alongside them. Greg responded with a negative refusal. Sick of the entire exchange, Kilijan went to get some sleep. Meanwhile, Lira, the half elf thieves guild leader, approached Weneon and told him they needed to talk. Weneon took Lira aside, and she began to reveal some information. Lira explained that a few years prior, she had been summoned to Elminster’s tower. Elminster had tasked her with a recon operation concerning approaching harengon troops. However, before she could deliver the gathered information, Elminster was already killed by Baba Yaga. She then handed Weneon a detailed map of Elminster’s tower, showing its five distinct levels. The last level on the map was marked "unavailable", and Lira clarified that this was the only room she had not been able to access. The last detail she added was that she had seen the wounded girl, who came into the camp earlier, inside the tower during her visit. Weneon concluded that she meant Selena. Before Lira departed, she leaned in and kissed Weneon. Weneon flinched at her touch at first. Lira quickly apologized for the action, but Weneon then leaned in himself and kissed her back. Taylor and Sagiatto watched the scene from the side. Taylor nudged Sagiatto and jokingly remarked: “That’s how it’s done.”