- Long May He Reign
- Lady and the Tramping a Fruit by the Foot
- Niniel takes her new Rod of the Pactkeeper and she sort of dips it into her Patron Pouch and it comes back out looking like it has tentacle markings on it and a squid beak on the end with a bit of a driftwood handle at the other end.
- She then journal communicates with her bestie Gin for a bit.
- Soliana's Trance is disrupted because she feels like someone is pulling on her skin in her décolletage and she feels like she can't catch her breath. Because Zemma was using Soliana's lap as a pillow, but Zemma can't see anything wrong.
- Soliana then wakes Niniel who can't find anything wrong, and when Niniel tugs on Soliana's skin Soliana can't tell the difference between where Niniel is pulling on her skin and the arcane tug.
- While everyone else is examining the now extremely hyperventilating Soliana, Zemma looks around and realizes Grim is missing.
- Niniel asks, "How attached ARE you to that book?" --> "We're literally soul-bound." "Oh."
- Zemma scoops Soliana into a piggy back ride and starts moving her in different directions and Soliana finds she actually can tell which direction the sensation lessens.
- They dart out of the boarding house and Soliana starts pinpointing the direction she senses Grim.
- They wind through the city and eventually find themselves in an alley where Grim speaks to Soliana says it's about time she got there. She asks him where he thinks he is and he says in a bag. So helpful.
- Niniel spots some shady characters and summons a tentacle to poke the largest of the crew, fluffs her gills and her hair starts floating and she aggressively calls out to the shadow, "Give the book back!"
- The group of shady characters is a slim elven man, a hulking human man, a thin elven woman, and a broad shouldered human man.
BETTER BOOK BATTLE
- Soliana finally sees the the characters and runs forward and tries to grab the bag out of the hands of the elven woman (Green), but his grip is too firm. "You're killing me!" She squeaks as she pulls on the bag.
- The slim elven man (Red) pulls a small hand crossbow and shoots Soliana point-blank for 13 piercing dmg and 1 poison dmg.
- Poetry runs forward and summons Ember near Red who manages to dodge the fire dmg. Ember then throws a small ball of fire at Red but he dodges that too.
- The big hulking man (Blue) moves up behind Soliana and tries to bean her in the head with a hammer, but she manages to dodge. Then he gets her shoulder for 6 bludgeoning dmg.
- Niniel casts Summon Shadow Spawn and calls forth a Japanese Spider Crab monstrosity out of a portal in her arm that she "cuts" with her fingernail into her forearm. She tries to smack Green with her tentacle, but misses. Then the Creepy Crab gives a Dreadful Scream which scares pretty much everyone within 30' of it (except Niniel and the unphased elven woman).
- Caleb runs up to flank Blue with Soliana and stabs Blue with a psychic blade and deals 22 psychic dmg to him. He then knicks him again with a psychic balde for 4 psychic dmg.
- Zemma rushes in next to Green missing with her transformed kitty claws then gets her for 10 slashing dmg then she misses again.
- Green punches Soliana for 6 bludgeoning dmg and knocks Soliana prone then misses kicking Zemma then misses punching Soliana again. While all this
- Black slices Zemma with his rapier for 6 (3) piercing, then again and again for a total of 18 (9) piercing dmg.
- Soliana stands up, tugs weakly at the bag one more time and then Starlight Steps away back to the alley where they came from holding her crossbow bolt wound. She is somehow no longer afraid of the crab.
- Red shoots Creepy Crab for 20 piercing and poison dmg. Red is no longer afraid of the crab.
- Poetry casts Wither and Bloom over Red (save), Green (fail), and Black (save) as well as Zemma dealing 4 necrotic dmg (or two for the saves) and Zemma gets 4 HP back. (Better than a kick in the pants, but not much better.) Ember misses with her flame ball. Poetry is still afraid.
- Blue misses Caleb twice. He is still afeared.
- Niniel misses Green with the tentacle. She then points her new Rod at Green and Red and Green takes 25 lightning dmg and Red takes 12. The Creepy Crab then stabs a pincer into Green's throat for 15 cold dmg.
- Caleb Disengages (bonus action because Rogue) back up towards Soliana to protect her and then throws a psychic dagger at Green for 15 dmg reduces by missile deflection by 11.
- Zemma slices into Green for 7 slashing dmg (She grabs the bag out of Green's hand and slams her in the head with the bag knocking her unconscious.) She then turns around and slices into Black for 13 slashing dmg, then misses on her second strike against him.
- Black misses Zemma then stabs her then misses again for a total of 12 (6) piercing dmg. Black then turns to run and Zemma slices him again for 11 slashing dmg right in the back. He runs up the alley still afraid of the Creepy Crab.
- Soliana runs around Caleb then Starlight Steps to Zemma to get the bag then runs back next to Niniel and drinks her conjured Healing Elixir for 12 HP.
- Red shoots Creepy Crab and kills it. :-( A void opens up under Creepy Crab and tentacles pull him back to the abyss from whence is came. Red then runs around Zemma after Black
- Poetry casts Scorching Ray sending all to Hulking Blue hitting him all three times for a total of 20 fire dmg. Ember then throws a Flame Seed at Blue for 13 fire dmg.
- Blue runs after his friends.
- Niniel fires an Eldritch Blast at Blue for 11 force dmg and then she misses Black with the second one. She then moves over the the prone form of Green.
- Caleb runs into the alleyway in front of Red to try to stop him from running away. "Hang on there a second."
- Zemma runs up to Red flanking with Caleb and she claws Red for 17 slashing dmg and again for 15 slashing dmg then again for 8 slashing dmg
- Black turns and throws a dagger at Caleb missing then he runs away disappearing into the night.
- Soliana walks up to Green and splashes water in her face with the Shape Water Cantrip.
- Red shoots Caleb for 32 (16 - Uncanny Dodge) piercing dmg. He then turns and runs up the alley with Zemma missing clawing his back but Caleb slices into him with a psychic dmg for 19 psychic dmg and he runs up the alley disappearing into the night.
- Soliana checks that Grim is okay, pulling him out of the bag while readying another ball of water for face splashing.
- Grim asks that Soliana hold him close so she does.
- Niniel has her summoned tentacle wrap itself around the elven woman's body and her arms.
- The monk woman claims that they just took the book because magic books are worth a lot of money, and there's a guy with a shop in the main square named Rex. It's called the Tattered Parchment.
- Soliana asks if they were sent after her book specifically and the woman says no she doesn't know who they are, but Caleb senses that she might have known the book even if she didn't know Soliana.
- Soliana makes a big show of casts Sense Emotion and she can tell the monk woman is trying to say whatever they want to hear so they don't kill her.
- Caleb does manage to get out of the monk woman that Rex gave her a description of the book (Grim)
- It's been a few months since the description went out. You know, since the book reached the school and the group has been gallivanting around the Cobalt Gulf.
- Soliana holds Grim up to the woman and asks if he's seen her before and he says aloud "No, she just looks like an elf to me."
- Niniel and Caleb intimidate the monk woman into not telling anyone about the book and also maybe to stop stealing and start boxing instead since she's so good at it. She thinks that's a very good idea.
- They try to go back to the Boarding House, and the guy at the desk tries to keep them from coming back in because Soliana woke up half the hostel when her book was stolen, but Poetry Karens their way back in.
- Soliana and Caleb get a full rest because elves, but everyone else only gets a short rest because not elves.
- 1,500 XP ea. for 9,750 XP total ea.
