Episode 5

Content Warning
Due to the nature of the improvisation, the content displayed within may be considered uncomfortable or triggering to some viewers. This includes: gore, body horror, themes of depression, dissociation, and anxiety.

Recap
''With Goldstead behind them, our heroes continue their travel of the Golden Route. With Bonnie at their side, the journey ahead is meant to be smooth sailing, but the road to Ansyr is long and often wrought with difficulty...''

Part 1
After a much needed long rest, the party readies themselves to travel with Bonnie down the Golden Route.

Bonnie's wagon is an oversized iron wagon, with a padlock on the back and barred windows on the side. Bonnie loads four captives into the cart - two from the first fight in front of the saloon, and two from the most recent scuffle - into the rear of the wagon, and says that there should also be room for the party inside. Lidara leaps on the opportunity to sit up front with Bonnie, and the others file in with the prisoners. Bonnie offers the party red velvet cushions and assures them that they are safe from the prisoners. Also, the prisoners will only be with them for a short time before they're dropped off with the peacekeepers outside of Goldstead.

Azzurum sits beside Kerry, the lead gunslinger from the fight at the saloon, and begins to antagonize him. Kerry refuses to apologize for attacking them, defending his actions by saying he likes to do a good job of things, and that when one of his boys said it was the air genasi, he had no choice.

The rest of the first day of travel is peaceful. They pass Hannigan's Bluff again, and although they can see blood and disturbed soil from the fight, there are no bodies remaining. They set up camp beneath the cliff there. Azzurum volunteers to take watch since he doesn't need to sleep - new information to the party. Vincent questions Azzurum further on this, and remarks that it's like pulling teeth to get information from him. Azzurum repeats that he wants to start living by the open book thing, and offers to answer any question Vincent asks. Vincent asks for the name of his father, and Azzurum immediately replies "not that one."

The party continues the conversation, learning bits of information about each other and making fashion suggestions. In short:


 * Azzurum's favorite color is blue, to the surprise of no one.
 * Azzurum should consider wearing more yellow.
 * The party thinks that Lidara could use a little "moment" of red or purple.
 * Lidara's ears aren't pierced.
 * Renaer used to have many more piercings than he does now (currently a single piercing in each ear).
 * Renaer likes to keep a regular schedule when he's in the city, and when he was in his rebellious phase, he used to "stay out after the sun goes down".
 * Azzurum pierced his own ears.
 * Azzurum lives in his rebellious phase.
 * Lidara didn't have a permanent place to sleep until they had the tavern in Ciniath
 * Azzurum has a tattoo to mark his induction into Invictus Tome ("a cult" according to Lidara)
 * Bonnie has no tattoos since they want it to be something meaningful, but does have many ear piercings.
 * Lidara has a tattoo that marks her membership in the Zhentarim, which Bonnie suggests she keeps covered in Ansyr.
 * Azzurum thinks they should all get friendship tattoos.

That night, Azzurum and Lidara take watch. After a brief conversation in which it is clear neither Lidara or Azzurum understand astronomy at all, Lidara checks in on Azzurum, admitting that she was worried about him. Azzurum is touched, and asks if Lidara would indeed like to get friendship tattoos of a "constellation" (random clump of stars) and says that he can make this experience less traumatizing than her last tattoo by holding her hand. Azzurum inquires further if she was feeling lonely due to the Chaol situation, but Lidara brushes the topic aside. They spend the rest of the night trying to (unsuccessfully) count stars by punching holes in a piece of paper.

The next day, Vincent strikes up a conversation with Kerry about the air genasi that had passed through Goldstead. Kerry remembered that he passed through about a week ago and had encountered a group taking tolls. Although the gang attacked first, the air genasi killed half of them, and left the other half in a terrible state, unable to fight. They didn't just have physical damage, but some came back with ruptured eardrums or fearing god. He explains further that Denton is not one to take a defeat like this lightly, especially since it was just one man who killed so many. Groups loyal to the gang are all on the lookout for the genasi, seeing this as an opportunity to gain favor and secure a spot in the main O'Donogan Gang camp. He also mentions that they did not target Azzurum just because he was an air genasi, but because the people who reported Azzurum's presence to him were absolutely certain that Azzurum has the same face as the air genasi in question.

Later, Bonnie spots a wagon on the prairie and stops the cart. Felix, a fairly attractive man of elven heritage, is sleeping against the side of his cart and Bonnie wakes him up. They transport the prisoners from Bonnie's cart to Felix's, and Felix goes through the formal recognition of the transfer, accidentally revealing that Bonnie's full name is "Bonnie O'Donogan." Frustrated, Bonnie tells Felix that they had requested their last name to be expunged from the record. Felix apologizes, saying he never got the memo. As they drive away, Azzurum asks Bonnie what her relationship is with Denton O'Donogan, and whether she can be trusted. Bonnie replies that Denton is her brother, but that she is not aligned with him in any way as she considers him to be blood gone bad. She also says she understands if its difficult for the group to trust her, but that she has been doing her best and does not plan to capture or kill them.

Part 2
The next day, Bonnie is more upbeat but still not her usual self, and awkward silence descends on the wagon. Bonnie informs the group that they should arrive at Wheldon within the week.

After an aborted game of i-spy (the beige thing was sand, not Renaer's used-to-be-white shirt), Azzurum says, unprompted, that his father's name was Elliot. Acknowledging that they don't really talk much about things that happened before they met in Ciniath, they speak of their families and Vincent mentions the holes in his memory.

Azzurum tells the group of his father Elliot's death at the hands of his biological father five years ago, and says that he still feels that he should have been able to prevent it. The party reassures him that it is not his fault - it is the fault of his biological father. Lidara sympathizes, since she also carries guilt about the death of her own parents. She says that while it doesn't get easier, by surrounding herself with people that she cares about and who care about her in turn, it is easier to bear. At this point, Azzurum deflects with humor and the serious conversation ends.

As they continue to travel, they chat about Wheldon and what they're most looking forward to - namely, baths. They tease Lidara lightly about becoming a city girl who now wants to take baths and sleep in real beds. The landscape in the Painted Valley is beautiful, with fresh air, cool dry weather, abundant flowers and grasses, and the occasional herd of grazing cattle.

Near the end of the week, Bonnie pulls the wagon off the side of the road, saying that they want to show the others something. Off the road, there is a forest clearing full of pink chrysanthemums. It is almost otherworldly in its beauty, and the party eats sandwiches and rest there for a time, soaking in the sun and the peaceful atmosphere. Renaer and Vincent sit together, shoulders touching, and reminisce about the garden in Ciniath. Lidara is reminded of one of the last really good memories of her hometown - her and her younger sister found a place similar to this, and they got in trouble since they weren't supposed to have been there. She thinks especially of her sister's laugh. The warmth of the sun makes Azzurum think of waking up in the Yawning Portal beside Davil with the sun coming in through the window - the sun reminds him of Davil a lot.

Bonnie tells the group the legend of this field, though they admit that they don't tell it as well as their mother used to. She tells the story of the florist Freya and the faerie Bri, and explains that because of this legend, pink chrysanthemums are seen as symbols of love and good fortune in Vandric communities. They are a symbol of where our world and the Feywild overlap, and where Freya and Bri are dancing.

Lidara and Renaer cry silently, an Vincent thanks Bonnie for the beautiful story. Bonnie says that she hopes that the party will trust her, and that whatever happens next, it's been a while since she had seen a group of people take care of each other the way the Strings of Fate do.

At the end of the next day's travel near dusk, they crest a hill and Bonnie calls out that they could see Wheldon. Off in distance, past rolling hills, a massive river stretches across the valley itself, with clear blue water that flows southward out of the mountains. The river appears to be over a mile wide. What draws their attention, however, is the structure built above the river on the Golden Route itself - stretching across the entire width of the river, connecting both sides, is a city built on massive bridge of brick - Wheldon.

Looking over the town, Bonnie says that she will never get tired of this sight. Azzurum feels the wind pick up and pull him towards the city.

The Strings of Fate

 * Azzurum Esen-Carr
 * Lidara Mormaer
 * Vincent Obra
 * Renaer Neverember

Returning

 * Bonnie O'Donogan
 * Kerry

Debuts

 * Freya
 * Bri
 * Felix

Mentions

 * Denton O'Donogan
 * Davil Starsong
 * Elliot Carr
 * Ussu Esen
 * Chaol