Announcement: While we had previously intended Ep 27 to be our last of the Summons End arc, as you’ll see below we’ll need at least one more episode to finish things off. You can catch us as-usual on Wednesday 5:30PST on our partner channel, Penny for a Tale.
The Despicable Six[1] - fresh off their victory at the Wet Markets[2] - returned to the Warehouse they had called their home the past several weeks. When they arrived, though, they found signs of a struggle - and found Satina[3] behind the warehouse in a state of shock.
Pyotr - adoptive father of Sasha
It didn’t take long to figure out what happened, though - Satina sat next to a bloody shovel, with a patch of dirt in front of her. She had no memory of what happened, except for a brief flash in a bar next to Sasha. She also didn’t know where Anananke[4] or Sasha[5] were.
At least one of these mysteries quickly got solved, though. Several of the party began digging up the disturbed patch of dirt, and it wasn’t long before they found the body of Anananke, head beaten in by the very shovel that now unearthed her.
Tensions quickly boiled over. Pyotr wanted to focus on finding Sasha, while Ymitri struggled with the knowledge that his lifelong friend might have done something to harm someone close to the party.
What happened next was something of a wild goose chase. The party ran to The Charging Stallion[6] - recognized by Satina’s description of her brief moment of lucidity during the missing time period - and ascertained that Sasha had left with a man in a sailor uniform. From there, they followed the trail to the Docks[7]. The dockworkers were reticent to provide direct aid, but allowed the party to take a look around and see if they could find anything. They didn’t, and Lysta lost her cool - kicking off a fight with the dockworkers.
Lysta - mentor to Sasha, and occasional hot-head
Of course, the Dockworkers stood little chance against a party of experienced fighters and were quickly dispatched and routed. The party had a “discussion” with the guy in charge, who pointed them toward a note given to one of the dock workers by the longshoremen they were following.
The note led them in very cryptic terms to Calix’s[8] estate (after a brief detour to Zilstra’s[9] to get Brandon’s[10] opinion on the note). After talking to an Ordeman[11]-controlled butler, however, it became clear that Sasha had already been taken to the Catfoot Dockyards for extraction from Aquilla.
The party rushed there, but found out they were too late - Sasha had already left. Fortunately though, Almïr[12] spotted the fleeing boat, and managed to keep track of it while the party commandeered a vessel of their own.
They set off into the night - exhausted, concerned, and spent after a day’s fighting and chasing - but burning with determination.
Glossary & Notes
[1] The Despicable Six: The name given to the party by the Tarinous[13] wanted posters, putting a bounty on their head.
[2] The Wet Markets: Markets in the northern part of the Redwood District (map) and recent site of a foiled ritual to return an ancient, evil deity to Unatowa.
[3] Satina: A childhood friend of Ymitri’s, and a fixture of the series from the start - given she was a kinda-sorta roommate of Ymitri’s and Rhea’s from back before they were forced to live in a Warehouse on the outskirts of town.
[4] Anananke: A mysterious soothsayer who had visited the party back in episode 21 (summary) after sending them a series of mysterious messages influencing their actions. She claims to be “watching the fire” - e.g. monitoring events around Unatowa as they unfold, and subtly influencing them to ensure the world doesn’t come to ruin. She visited the party, however, after it became clear that something in the area had been eluding her view - and that it was tied intimately with the Despicable Six.
[5] Sasha: Pyotr’s adoptive daughter and the party sassafras. Pyotr’s made it clear over the years that he cares deeply for Sasha, and will do anything to protect her - even if it means his or anyone else’s life.
[6] The Charging Stallion: The bar and fight club that Zoya, crime overlord of Aquilla, has made her Headquarters. Especially notable for the giant fighting ring in the middle of the bar.
[7] The Docks: Ymitri started off as a worker at the docks, although he was forced to stop going to work after the party became fugitives
[8] Calix: Long-time thorn in the side of Pyotr, and high-ranking member of the Tarinous[13].
[9] Zilstra: An elderly woman who runs an orphanage in the Mugre district - the “old-poor” part of town (as opposed to the rougher Ruggine district, home to the “new-poor”).
[10] Brandon:Ymitri’s former friend who had become a mage for The Twisted Fang in recent years. He and the party clashed previously, getting captured temporarily in episode 15 only to escape in episode 23 While Ymitri and Rhea had previously tried hard to convince Brandon to see the error of his ways, things seemed hopeless until the events of this episode. In episode 26, he apparently demonstrated a change of heart, although it remains to be seen whether it’ll stick.
[11] Ordemists: A shadowy race of dreamscape monsters. They act in this world by possessing people and forcing them to act toward their ends - often resulting in memory gaps and sudden personality shifts. Prominently featured in episodes 4, 11, and 20 (summary) et al.
[12] Almïr: Lysta’s leshie companion
[13] Tarinous: The name of the privatized police forces of Aquilla.