"Rollercoaster of Emotions!" is the eleventh episode of High Rollers.
- Previous episode: "Harp'ing On!"
- Next Episode: "I Can't Perform!"
Having found the dead body of their former ally left as a message for them the group, Cam stands over the body and offers a prayer to Avandra in respect. Trell reverts to his natural form and Cam asks the group what they do now, to which Trell says they need to track the group down for this. Elora points out that for the Broken Sky to know to leave Vixanis here, they must have already been watching the group long before they even heard of them. They are confused as to why they would be watched, and wonder if the dwarven thief Vixanis had been chasing had anything to do with this. Cam suggests that they leave this situation for now, but also try to seek payback. Jiǔtóu wants to meet the Broken Sky head on by going to Briarcrest to confront the group there, rather than being taken by surprise by another attack. Cam agrees with her although he acknowledges that it is a risky move, while Elora wants to seek information on the Broken Sky in Talis'Val where the group are but are not in power as opposed to Briarcrest where they know the group has control of the town. Eventually Cam and Trell both agree with the druid, and Jiǔtóu asks if they wish to leave Vixanis unavenged to which the three say they do not - they'd just rather set up securely in the capital first before pursuing revenge for their fallen ally. Especially since if the Broken Sky is already watching them, the group will likely follow them to Talis'Val anyway. Jiǔtóu says that she merely wants to know what the Broken Sky know about Korak, and the group suggests that they seek to meet with the group then before they meet Korak, which Jiǔtóu accepts. A quick examination of the body shows that Vixanis was killed two days prior, before the group got involved in searching for the missing lumber, and thus she was likely killed because she was asking too many questions and not because of what the party had been doing. The party decide to bury Vixanis, with Cam, Jiǔtóu and Elora preparing the body while Trell goes back to Feyden to pick up his armour. They wrap Vixanis in some nearby tarp and rope as a shroud, Elora druidcrafts together some flowers, they dig a hole for the body, Jiǔtóu lights some incense, and Cam performs a funeral ritual to his god for the drow woman before they pile some stones up at the head of the grave and leave. Meanwhile Trell arrives at the forge and picks up his new armour and sells the old leather armour to her for a few gold.
They meet up back at The Oaken Wagon where Cam goes to order more drinks and Jiǔtóu sneaks off, while Elora (as a direwolf having used it to aid in the digging) pads in to lie by the fireplace. Turning to see that Jiǔtóu has disappeared, Elora is still a wolf, and he's been left with Trellimar who doesn't drink, Cam necks all four of the shots he just bought and gets immediately very drunk. Jiǔtóu meanwhile goes up to the old manor house to where Falk is crafting more of his alchemical 'stones', she lets herself into Dmitriv's cell and tells the man to take care of himself. Dmitriv panics and insists that if he is left alone without protection that the Broken Sky will find and murder him, and he says that if the party takes him with them he will inform the capital of what he has told them. Jiǔtóu merely tells him to do whatever he wants and leaves, but agrees to take Dmitriv to the capital if he is quiet and provides some rations. Dmitriv and Falk follow Jiǔtóu back to the Oaken Wagon where Cam is drinking down water to try and alleviate his drunkeness, Dmitriv sets up at the windows to watch for approaching attackers and Cam wanders off to throw up, while Jiǔtóu orders a simple meal for everyone. Trellimar decides to have some fun with Cam and transforms into a beautiful woman, and when Cam emerges he instantly goes into 'impress' mode, pulling out Elfy and playing with it. He slides up to the woman and opens conversation, which quickly turns to flirting much to Elora's discomfort and Jiǔtóu's puzzlement. Cam sneaks a look over to Falk to wink, but Falk is barely holding himself together trying not to laugh. Cam looks back to the 'woman' and realises something is off, so closes the distance a little and asks if she wants to bang, and Trell can't help but start laughing. Cam takes his water to sulk in the corner while Falk also breaks into laughter. Eventually the meal is brought out and the party eats, with Elora finally resuming her natural elven form to eat. Towards the end of it Cam pokes Dmitriv's paranoia for fun, then casts Charm Person in an attempt to calm him down when the rest of the group call him out for his shenanigans. Cam then suggests they go rent a horse and cart to get them to the capital and the group makes their way to the stables just outside of Feyden's walls to rent transport, eventually renting three horses and a cart for 160 gold in total. They then ask Dmitriv if he has any money and the trader says he has about 100 gold left in his shop so Cam takes Dmitriv and a horse back to the shop to retrieve the money.
Unfortunately the moment they reach the shop and Dmitriv is about to open the door, the Charm Person spell wears off and Dmitriv freaks out. The trader runs back into his shop and locks the door behind him, as Cam attempts to first stop him and then get him to come out. When this fails, he lights a torch and then sets the shop on fire. He starts trying to convince the trader to leave but Dmitriv is still too paranoid that Cam is working for the Broken Sky and is going to kill him. Cam waits for the man to open his door and emerge and at this point some of the gate guards notice the shop is on fire, with Cam pretending he found it like this and shouting at them to fetch some water as he has none. They then start using their spears to try and lever open the door and Cam pretends to be helping them, although the guards manage to open the door quite quickly. The guard charges in to find Dmitriv, but Cam quickly hears the man pass out. Cam takes a deep breath and plunges in himself with Shield of Faith empowering him with Avandra's light. He finds the unconscious guard and drags the man out into the fresh air, taking a little damage from the fire and by now the shop is so much on fire the smoke cloud is visible to the rest of the party at the stable. Cam decides to go back in to find Dmitriv, as the rest of the guards now arrive with buckets of water to attempt to douse the flames. This time he notices a boot stick out from under the curtain that covers the back room, but the smoke is thick and Dmitriv himself looks to be engulfed in burning flame. Cam casts Healing Word on the man and throws him out, his own body now scorched by flame and affected by smoke inhalation. The village has now gathered to fight the fire, and while the guard Cam rescued earlier is now sitting up and being cared for, it is clear at a glance that Dmitriv is dead.
The rest of the party arrive just as the last of the blaze is going out and take in the scene before them, Cam knelt beside Dmitriv to offer prayers for Dmitriv. However when he does this he realises his ring, the place he channels his powers from Avandra, is tarnished in some way and the prayers he offers do not seem to be reaching Avandra's ears right now. Jiǔtóu joins Cam in kneeling beside the man, sad in some way that she couldn't help him. She asks Cam what happened and the cleric, reeling from the knowledge that he has displeased his god, explains what he did. One of the guards overhears and Cam confesses that it was he who set the building ablaze, and the entire village look at Cam in confusion. Rika speaks up and says that while the arson and murder is a crime, Dmitriv had been a Broken Sky member, actively working against Feyden, so they are unsure what to do. She asks if there is anything that could have justified what Cam did, but Cam says that Dmitriv was a good man who didn't deserve to die like this and so he has no defense. For now Cam is lead off by the guards willingly, while the rest of the party is in shock. Rika apologises to the rest of the party, saying that she needs to decide what they're going to do with him, and Jiǔtóu follows a group of the villagers as they carry Dmitriv's body to the graveyard for storage and prayers before burial. Jiǔtóu stays with the body for a while, while Elora places some more druidcrafted flowers with Dmitriv as a tribute. The party hesitates about what to do, confused and shaken by what has just happened as none of them were there to witness is and a man has died because of Cam's actions. Falk goes back to The Oaken Wagon to sleep, while Elora ventures back to the stable to let the woman in charge know that they will be delayed in setting out. Trellimar recalls that Cam has been accused of murder before now, and disguises himself as the old woman before going to see him. He spins a tale of being a grieving family member and the guards let him through to see Cam, Trell tells Cam that he needs to pull himself together and although he made a mistake they need to get out of here. Cam simply tells Trell that he has committed murder, a crime and asks if the drow is willing to commit another crime to break Cam out. Trell reminds Cam that as a drow, people tend to suspect him of crimes anyway and the stereotype hasn't hindered him so far. He says he'd rather get a slap on the wrist then see Cam punished as while the Cleric might be a pain, he's a good man. Cam reveals that his god is not talking to him and Trell suggests that if freed Cam can work towards re-establishing that bond with her, and Cam says that he will still come with the party but won't joke as much. Cam suggests Trell find a way to bend the rules without committing a crime, but Trell is honest in saying he was planning to commit a crime in freeing Cam. They think about using Granamyr as a distraction but realise that because the door is locked it isn't feasible, as well as there being a village to get through even if Trell managed to get Cam out. Cam even questions if the rest of the party will want him back after this, and Trell agrees to talk with them before any action is taken.
He meets up with Jiǔtóu and Elora at Dmitriv's body, where Jiǔtóu is meditating to pay respects to the man. He tells them that he has been to see Cam and Cam wants to play things by the book and take his punishment, then asks what they want to do. Jiǔtóu simply replies that despite her personal feelings, she has a life-debt to him as well as the rest of the party. Elora is more hesitant, saying she doesn't know. She doesn't want to leave Cam behind, but feels he must face punishment for the crime. Jiǔtóu says they should speak to Rika, and convince her to let Cam leave with them and that it might be best for the Cleric to leave Feyden entirely. She stays with the body to perform a wake, as Dmitriv has no family in Feyden, and the two elves go to speak to Rika. They find her drinking in The Oaken Wagon and discuss with her consequences for Cam's action, with Trell noting that everyone including the Cleric himself agrees that punishment must happen. Trell says that something must happen to give the village satisfaction that it has been punished, but that Cam should be allowed to leave with them so they can "keep a closer eye" on him. Rika agrees that Cam can be released to the party, but that after they must leave Feyden immediately. They arrange to meet up at the manor house early tomorrow morning, and the party decides to camp up at the manor house for the night, with Jiǔtóu staying where she is to continue her wake.
In the morning Rika approaches the two elves and tells them that the funeral is about to start if they wanted to pop down for it. They decide it is the least they can do after all that's happened, and they meet up with Jiǔtóu for the funeral. They then head back to the manor house and meet up with Rika, as well as the blacksmith who has brought with her a brand. She informs the party that Cam will be released into their custody, but he is never to return to this village, and through reading last night she discovered a custom to punish people guilty of crimes which she is planning to use now. She plans to brand Cam as a person who has committed a grave crime, but has been let go - but if he is caught again doing terrible crimes the marshalls of wherever he is arrested will see the brand and know what it means. Guards enter Cam's cell and ask him to come with them, to which Cam willingly follows them. He is then led out to before the party, Rika and the blacksmith, and Rika explains what will happen. Cam agrees to the punishment, refusing something to bite down on for the pain, and takes the branding with closed eyes and gritted teeth despite the intense pain. Afterwards Rika tells the party that the business is concluded and they must now leave Feyden for good. Cam asks his party where Dmitriv has been buried, talking to Trell, but Jiǔtóu says she will take him there. Elora chooses to wait by the gates for them, while Trell heads back to the tavern to find Falk, but finds that Falk has already gone and has left a letter for them. Jiǔtóu leads Cam to the fresh grave, and passes him an incense stick which he sticks into the ground and lights while saying sorry. The party then meets back up at the stables, getting money back for the two horses they no longer need and setting off to Talis'Val.
The journey takes just over a day, during which Cam rides in the wagon lying down with the two elves also in the wagon and Jiǔtóu guiding the horse. Elora spends time making sure the brand isn't going to get infected, and Cam tells the party that this demon will haunt him for a while and he apologises for the trouble he has caused them. During the night as they sleep Cam dreams of being trapped in a burning room and hears Avandra telling him that Cam has failed her. She is a god of luck and coin, not vengeance and murder; and until Cam makes up for this and rights the wrongs she will not favour him with luck. The dream ends and Cam awakes in a cold sweat, the feeling surrounding him that luck has turned against him. The next day they continue on and finally reach the large circular walls of Talis'Val, the outer wall white and still being constructed and the inner wall looks much older - ancient in fact. Eventually the party joins in with a procession of carts and people entering the city, being looked over by guards at the gate before they are allowed in. Eventually it is there turn and a guard says that he needs to ask them what their business is in Talis'Val before they can be let in, Cam pulls out the writ he has with him and passes it over for inspection and the guard informs him that the Feast of Stone in which he is to perform will be in a day's time. Elora passes over a letter for Korak and is identified as an emissary for the elven spires, Jiǔtóu pretends to be a part of Cam's act and Trellimar says he is Elora's bodyguard. The guard then asks for names and records them down, with Cam and Jiǔtóu giving fake names. He also informs Jiǔtóu that tieflings have been targeted as of late inside the city, and that they recommend keeping out of Whisper's Walk at night. They get the location of the drop-off point for the horse and cart, and find out that in order for Elora to get her audience with Korak they need to head to the Guild Quarter and to the government buildings to get the appointment made. The Guild Quarter also holds the Stonemason's Guild where Cam will be performing.
After getting more information on the sectors of the city and places to stay they head off into Talis'Val, handing the horses and cart back to the farm and getting back a little bit of the gold for the return (after calling the halfling running the farm out for trying to short them some of the gold). They then head to The Duck & Porter, one of the two places recommended by the gate guard and find it tucked down a side street. Inside the bar is a very long room with booths and a fireplace at one end, and it is staffed by a dwarven woman with silver hair and a domesticated red fox who Elora immediately approaches and makes friends with. They arrange for rooms to stay in, and the dwarven woman gives them keys before apologising for the lack of bar staff and leaving the fox on guard as she goes to prepare the rooms. Elora goes over to Cam to talk to him about going to see about his performance, while Trell sits in another area of the room to commune with his patron. Elora asks about the performance and Cam softly says he doesn't want to do it anymore, which confuses Elora as that was Cam's entire reason for coming to Talis'Val. Jiǔtóu asks if Korak was to be at the performance and when the answer is 'Yes', she insists that the performance will happen. Cam then asks the tiefling about her history with Korak and she in turn asks what they know of Korak. Cam says he will give the Bucklands a lot of money for the performance, and both he and Elora know that Korak is known as the Golden Champion - a mighty dragonborn warrior who carries a sword of Fallshard, who 40 years ago begun fighting evil in the Dawn Republic, formed his own party of heroes, and eventually formed the Dawn Republic and the city they now stand in. Finding out that Elora's father knew Korak, Jiǔtóu asks if the father approved of the dragonborn and Elora says yes. Jiǔtóu then says the Korak she knows is different to the one they have been told stories of, Jiǔtóu gave her mother's name at the gate - the mother she lost to Korak's handsa long with her father at a very young age. The story Jiǔtóu tells is that Korak came to her village on a raiding party, slaughtering the adult tieflings and taking the young as slaves. Jiǔtóu was Korak's own personal slave for years, and she shows them signs of whipping and beating that has scarred her back. She finishes by telling the party that she wishs to expose Korak for the cruel person and murderer he truly is - the dragonborn in red and gold. She does however say that Master Guan Yin suggested that Jiǔtóu try to expose him rather than kill him, and this was why she wanted to talk to the Broken Sky to see what they knew.
There is a knock at the tavern door and the dwarven woman comes back downstairs and opens it to find a gnome guard, come to ask questions about a missing bartender. It turns out the man, Sheng, was a tiefling who has recently gone missing, and before the guard leaves Elora gets his attention to ask about if it's just tieflings going missing. The guard tries to deny it's just tieflings going missing, but yes people have gone missing and no, none of them were any other race but tiefling. He does read out a statement though when he notices the party has a tiefling in their number about staying with people at all times and not travelling alone, when Jiǔtóu asks how many tieflings have gone missing he tells them 3, with missing times varying from a week and a half down to just a few days. He tells the party that tieflings aren't treated differently to anyone else and are regarded as very keen and hard workers who apprentice and learn trades. He notes down that Jiǔtóu is at the Duck & Porter to keep an eye on her, and notes down companions too before leaving.
