Harlequin was on a mission for the crown which was where they were. Obviously. Finding that their siblings have been missing for weeks, and the Margave thinks that Amber troops are parked on the edge of Chaos ready to attack. They go down the trump deck until they manage to contact Dantaylion, who boosts the trump call with everyone’s help. We don’t have much luck getting answers from Dworkin other than sufficient sorcery could remove the false memories from Bleys, but we have already tried Mandor so it seems beyond our reach. 

Bleys appears to be missing and with a search around the cave we call him on Trump and he seems to be at a chain hotel. Everyone returns home along with Rook going to speak to Bleys for the time being. Bleys doesn’t really remember anything that happened - he doesn’t remember speaking with Cain, being stabbed by him, any of it. After some talk Rook suspects it might be the God in Bleys’ pattern sword acting up and pushing for a war as we might have a bigger god problem than we thought as the magic around him seems sterile but also warm. 

They eat, they’re gonna need food for this.

Harlequin checks in on Yannick but they are still asleep, so they get soup for them. Nobody has heard about incoming troops from Amber and are willing to pass off Yannick’s comments as being half in dreams. 

Lilja goes to see Grandcrab to ask about the sickle, and specifically the Kraken. House Triton has a lot in common with the Kraken metaphorically and all, which is what Grandcrab says.

Harlequin checks in with Dantaylion and asks that he go check in on Yannick since Dante is closer to them, and Yannick mistakes Dantaylion for Crow and asks him about investigating the lines of power about the 9th King. 

Rook and Bleys go speak to Fiona to explain the God Problem to her as well, and her memories match Bleys’. While explaining this, Rook begins to feel drowsy and recognizes it as what had happened last time when they all passed out but didn’t remember it. Bringing the Logrus up to defend themself, Rook watches Bleys and Fiona drop. Rook can feel the brackish feeling from the sword in particular. Unfortunately fighting against it isn’t working, so they try to drag the unconscious Bleys and Fiona out of there and away from the sword. 

Harlequin hears running and sees Crow, out of the ghost prison. Harlequin missed that conversation and thought Crow was a construct but Crow insisted Rook was in trouble. Harlequin called Dantaylion and got the rundown. They return to Harlequin’s office with Crow and try to call Rook. 

Meanwhile Rook is trying to parlay with what they think is the god trapped in the spikard Bleys carries (Kraken?). It insists they’re all in a prison and just wants to be free. 

They want to basically break down the two poles of reality so that it’s all free rather than confined to two lines, and things have gotten more dire since the 9th King has begun to awaken. 

Rook calls the others and lets them know the ‘people’ behind this are apparently all the Gods. 

Once he’s off the trump call letting the others know what happened, Bleys and Fiona are gone and they can’t ahold of them via Trump. 

So we have a family dinner for everyone to talk and share information. 

Harlequin expresses concern over Yannick’s mental wellbeing and Rook promises to check in, which they do after dinner. Yannick is lucid and thinks they’re doing just fine, but Rook is still concerned and it’s agreed that Rook will take on a few more responsibilities. 

Harlequin checks in with the person in charge of the black guard to try to get access to the forbidden archives. 

Dantaylion got back from Nef about some potential matches from house Anwp and passes that on to Lilja who speaks to Miriam about that and arranges dates to chaperone. 

Checking in with the physician, Rook finds out that they were dismissed a month ago and produces a letter saying they would be seeking care elsewhere which has both the Margave and Rook’s seal on it. Rook asks the physician to restart work immediately and come with them to go see Yannick since he hasn’t seen a physician in at least a month. Returning to Hesse Ways, the Margave is nowhere to be found. Rook finally trumps Yannick, who says he is hunting. Zind. He was under the impression that the conversation they had was that Rook was taking over entirely. Rook clarifies that no that was not the conversation. On the bright side, he doesn’t recognize the letter. 

The physician points out after an examination that Yannick has large gaps in his memory (no shit) and they return to Hesse Ways to get Yannick set down to rest. Calling up Lilja she thinks the handwriting looks like the Steward rather than the Margrave’s on the letter. Rook’s seal on the letter is also better applied than Rook usually manages. 

Rook calls Harlequin next to ask about the letter for investigations. Harlequin can get that the people who have handled it most recently are Yannick, the Steward, and the physician, but not a whole lot more than that. 

Harlequin insists they contact the privy council before anything else to make it official that Rook is taking over the position so that Rook has power. When approaching Yannick about this, Yannick just calls the king to let him know. The King looks rather alarmed at this information but agrees for it. 

Once that’s dealt with, they ask where the steward is and Yannick says he is fetching sculpting supplies for them. Unfortunately when asking, the steward insists that Rook was there for that decision, applying the seal themself. When asked, the Steward also says that they sent Winter on a mission to investigate thefts. 

Back at Hesse ways, Dantaylion gets invited to visit with Mandor and is treated to the Prince Ali musical number. Apparently because Marco was worried about Dantaylion’s wellbeing, Mandor wanted to make sure the engagement was still in good standing. While Dantaylion is there, he notices the Iron Scarab in the crowd and makes an excuse to head out to the restroom so he can speak to him in private. Apparently the portal was disrupted for a bit but is working now. The Iron Scarab does say that Benedict was his younger brother and states there were eight siblings older than Benedict that had died, so the Iron Scarab may not actually be Finndo. 

After dinner Mandor takes Marco and Dante on a tour of the Ways he’s setup for Dantaylion after the eventual marriage. It’s very Extra.

Lilja approaches Rook regarding a small party to announce Yannick’s retirement as well as Rook taking over the title of Margave. Rook agrees to a small to medium party. 

Rook and Harlequin go to find Winter in a barely used portion of Hesse Ways. Poor Winter has been on-guard for basically the whole time they’ve been gone and Rook and Harlequin relieve Winter and send them home. 

Calling Dantaylion they notice that the water seems somehow crisper and clearer in a spot, like a portal to elsewhere. Rook uses the Jewel of Destiny to basically spackle over that and close the portal for now. 

Checking in, Harlequin receives permission to access the forbidden archives. 

(This is where my internet died if anyone can fill in the last scene?)