The aftermath of their battle with the Denarian brought a string of rapid-fire decisions for the group. Despite Detective Emiko Sato’s fervent insistence on sticking together, the party split into two factions. Aubert, nursing a fractured leg and the weight of the captured demon coin, broke away from the group to secure the coin’s safety. Meanwhile, Jeremy, Gigi, and BRO-ski, accompanied by Detective Sato, set off to secure the Codex Mysterium Bune and convene at the Basilica.
During his solitary journey, Aubert found himself confronted by an enigmatic messenger from the Summer Fae. This being, devoid of any discernible gender, delivered a chilling ultimatum; Aubert could hand over the Denarius coin and spare his life or brace for the severe repercussions that would befall his companions. Instead of responding, Aubert chose to put the Fae nature of the messenger to test, presenting cold iron before them, an act that surprisingly yielded no reaction. Leaving the message to hang heavy in the air, he turned his back to walk away, only to find that the messenger had vanished as swiftly as they had appeared.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group, cocooned in Detective Sato’s SUV, experienced a shocking jolt when the radio blared heavy metal music at full volume without warning. The ensuing distraction led to a near-collision with what appeared to be a child bouncing a red ball on the road. Sato swerved the SUV to avert catastrophe, crashing into a light pole instead, injuring the group and rendering her unconscious.
However, as they emerged from the wreckage, it became clear that the child had been an illusion – a log lying innocuously in the middle of the road was all that remained. The misdirection proved to be a harbinger of an impending ambush as they found themselves surrounded by two swarms of fairies, demanding the return of the “stolen” coin. On the brink of a full-blown battle, BRO-ski interceded, negotiating a two-day reprieve and a parlay with Lady Seraphina at the Fountain of Youth.
The beleaguered group managed to regroup at the church, where they discovered that the Codex Mysterium Bune was essentially a cipher for understanding another text, “Dux Divitiarum et Sapientiae” (The Duke of Riches and Wisdom). Sister Maria produced the tome, sharing her concern that one of the two copies recorded in the church’s vault was missing. Even with his preliminary study of the tome, Jeremy noticed striking similarities between the illustrations in the book and the ritualistic tableau of the murder scenes.
Their scholarly investigation was abruptly disrupted when an imposing female soldier, backed by a heavily armed squadron and a cohort of brutish thugs, stormed the church. A masterstroke of illusionary magic from Aubert turned BRO-ski into the likeness of a Summer Sidhe lord, enabling a tense parlay with the soldier. She inadvertently revealed her allegiance to a master known as Lilith, and hinted at a troubling truce between the Summer Fae and the Denarians, who seemed to be working in unison to recover Aubert’s stolen coin.
BRO-ski, leveraging the situation, managed to convince the soldier to allow their departure in exchange for the riches of the church’s vault. They made a strategic retreat, only to witness a brutal firefight erupt between the soldier’s group and a SWAT team from a safe distance. The night’s final spectacle was the soldier and her guards speeding off in an armored van, bags of looted treasures slung over their shoulders.
The session ended with the team left in the wake of chaos, mulling over their next course of action. As the echoes of explosions faded into the night, they found themselves grappling with a tantalizing question – should they pursue the escaping van, or forge a new path forward?
