Demon’s Arithmetic – Recap episodes 184-189

Still in Ors Themar, the party finishes a short rest and prepares to escape, quickly realizing that leaving the city may be as dangerous as entering it. They navigate tight passages, dispel glyphs, and move with hushed precision, managing to avoid further combat and finally put distance between themselves and the city before making camp for the night. During watches, they process the weight of what they witnessed. Shanks thanks Yurik for the rescue, concerns are raised about Ors Themar’s implications for Nakoroa, and the group reflects on how dire the situation may be.

During the watches, deeper conversations unfold. Turk and Glad discuss Glad’s fallout with The Protector, while Arguile admits he initially believed Yurik was the threat his mother, Dorna, was facing. Galahad and Shanks speak candidly about fear, death, how Galahad’s aura functions, and a new potion Shanks has been developing. By morning, Shanks discovers a small copper coin and a raven’s feather, an ominous sign, while Arguile notices the stone’s count has dropped to two. Alarmed, the group breaks camp and heads back toward the city with urgency, stopping one last time at the now-empty field where the cursed cabin once stood. Overnight, the stone drops further, ticking down from 0.5 to 0.1 as they approach.
Upon entering the city, a shepherd informs Yurik that Shepard Miles has summoned them to their usual meeting place. Before going, they detour to Yurik and Dorna’s home, only to find it empty as the stone finally reaches zero. As Yurik struggles to understand where Dorna could be, questions arise about his connection to Shepard Miles. Shanks realizes Arioch has been manipulating events behind the scenes all along, and when Galahad asks about Yurik’s sword, Yurik reveals it was given to him by Shepard Miles. Recognizing the urgency, Shanks insists they leave immediately, and as they rush to confront Shepard Miles, the group identifies Yurik’s blade as Tempest’s Edge.

The party arrives at the cemetery and meets Shepard Miles, Yurik’s Crew, and Dorna, with tension so thick it threatens to erupt at any moment. That fuse is struck when Arioch appears as a golden-skinned elf and reveals the truth behind the tragedy binding them all together: Yurik is Arguile’s biological father. Long ago, a bargain to save Arguile’s life replaced Arguile’s heart with his father’s, at the cost of all parties forgetting one another. Fate, or Arioch’s cruel amusement, later reunited Yurik and Dorna, resulting in the birth of Enich, Arguile’s younger brother. All of it, Arioch admits, was done simply because it entertained him.

Arioch then presents Yurik and Arguile with a horrific choice: his army needs a general, and there are two candidates for one position, so they must fight for it. Despite pleas and defiance, Yurik attacks first, begging forgiveness as Arguile refuses to strike back and challenges Arioch’s logic. The demon’s answer is merciless: it’s more fun this way. To force compliance, Arioch seizes Dorna and threatens to kill and resurrect her repeatedly until they fight in earnest. After a brutal demonstration of his power, father and son are forced to take the duel seriously. The party can only watch, unable to intervene without certain death, offering what aid they can through spells and support, until Arioch halts all interference.

When both Yurik and Arguile offer themselves to spare Dorna from watching one of them die, they begin to argue. Yurik says that the deal he made was only meant to be for him, and Arguile shouldn’t have to pay his debts. Arguile argues that Yurik and Dorna already have another son to love and spend time with. Arioch grows tired of this, killing Enich and forcing Dorna to choose. She chooses Arguile, but Arguile will only accept this if Arioch revives Enich. The Demon capitulates, then cruelly infects Enich with the same disease that once afflicted Arguile, declaring Enich’s life limited either way. In the end, Yurik agrees to go with Arioch, granted only a brief farewell with his family, a devastating moment with no true victory. As Yurik is taken away, Enich escorts Dorna to safety in a nearby crypt, and the focus shifts to the remaining threat: Yurik’s Crew preparing to fight. The party braces itself as the necromancer raises a dozen skeletons to swell the enemy ranks.

The fight opens in chaos: Shanks fires a concussive shot at the cleric as Galahad and Arguile are stunned, and the barbarian hounds Zechs with smite-infused strikes. The monk shadow-steps to Shanks, stunning him, while Salix restrains the necromancer, only for him to immediately hurl a fireball into the group. Galahad answers with Channel Divinity, dropping the cleric, and Glad heals him with her circlet before attempting to finish her off, but a blight from the necromancer weakens Glad’s blows. The barbarian lands a reckless hit on Galahad, Arguile critically wounds the cleric, and Turk summons a spirit of death to pressure the monk, though its necrotic damage is resisted. Stuns continue to fly as undead thralls join the fray; Turk counters a blight aimed at a stunned Galahad, Glad restrains the necromancer with her wand, accidentally sticking Salix to him, and Shanks trades shots with the monk. Arguile ultimately delivers the killing blow to the cleric.

Momentum shifts again as Zechs’ lightning arrow misfires, clipping the stunned Galahad, and Turk’s eldritch blasts are blunted by shields tied to the Elrin light. The monk keeps Galahad locked down with repeated stuns and even drops Turk briefly, while the necromancer’s thralls batter Salix back into their true form and hammer Galahad to the brink. A devastating fireball drops Galahad and Lorainne outright; as Galahad fades, he reaches out to Bahamut, is met by a golden sparrow, and affirms his faith. Empowered by Bahamut’s blessing, rage beyond death, he rises again, eyes glowing azure as seven golden sparrows circle him.

With Galahad back in the fight, Shanks outplays the monk, baiting reactions before landing the decisive double shots; Arguile and Zechs finish him moments later, and Zechs clears the remaining skeletons. The barbarian turns her fury on Turk as Salix’s psychic lance is counterspelled and the necromancer’s zombies miss. Then the necromancer locks eyes with Shanks and utters Power Word Kill. The battlefield falls silent as Shanks collapses dead. But only for a moment, and as the battle rages on to its imminent conclusion, Shanks finds himself in the Veil. He is met there by his ancestral God, The Hunter. The two converse on his journey through life and his progress toward balance. Their conversation ended with the awakening of Mind’s Eye to its full potential. Meanwhile, the party pushes their enemies toward defeat when the necromancer casts Cone of Cold, dropping Turk unconscious.

As he falls, time slows to a stop, and he meets his much-maligned patron, Kas the Bloody-handed. The Vampire questions Turks’ resolve and motivations for his pact, ultimately relieving the halfling of his powers after he refuses to do the betrayer’s bidding. Turk isn’t the only one pushed to the edge by the Cone of Cold. Zechs soon falls unconscious after a strike from the barbarian. The Tabaxi awakes in a vision of the spirit world of his people, the Goddess of the realm at his side. Tumra, the Snow Leopard, helps the Ranger unburden himself through thoughtful conversation and quiet contemplation.

As the battle comes to a dramatic close, with Salix performing the revivify spell on Shanks’ lifeless body, the archer’s time in the Veil draws to a close. He meets the Matron of Ravens, who informs him that his time in the land of the living is not at an end. She, like the party, is opposed to the Constable’s plans and wishes for him to take her blessing back to stop the needless loss of life, once and for all. Shanks accepts this gift as everything fades to black.

The aftermath of the fight sees Zechs, Turk, and Shanks being brought back up. Turk’s magic seems to have left him, as a plume of black smoke leaves him, and Zechs has a white handprint that has appeared on his own hand where Tumra touched him. Turk appears visibly angry with his former patron, and Galahad tries to assess the group. Shanks is brought back from the brink of death, and he awakes, feigning memory loss, to cut the visible tension. Zechs heals Arguile and directs Arguile towards his brother and mother. The family reunites and comforts each other through their grief, then reconvenes with the party before heading back into the city. The party looks over the area to see if there’s anything worth grabbing before heading out and finds several things, including armor that they’re unsure is cursed, so Turk holds off on putting it on until they can find something better suited for him.

The party decides to head to their lodgings rather than Dorna’s home, at least until they can be sure it’s safe for them to return. As they return, per their usual routine, the drinks begin to pour, and some seem a bit more tense after the fight than others. After checking in on one another and trying to plan their next moves, the group decides to go out on the town to get some tattoos. Shanks, Turk, Glad, Galahad, Arguile, and even Dorna all join in getting tattoos and blowing off some steam.

Later that night, Shanks, Turk, and Zechs all divulge what happened to them while they were out of commission, and they all had wild experiences with gods and patrons, which they are shocked by; this is fairly normal for them. There’s a bit of inventory sorting and such before heading out to negotiate for Galahad’s belt. With some trades, gold, and bartering, he’s able to acquire the Belt of Fire Giant Strength. There are plans to pick up their special gear, Glad’s boon via airship, and a trip to the Ren Faire for some much-needed revelry after a long few weeks.

The group finishes plans to go to the Ren Faire, recounting the fight and what transpired during some members’ visit to the other side. They decide to pick up some supplies, place some orders, and stock up before the next leg of their trip. Eventually, they finally arrive at the Ren Faire, and Arguile gives a lay of the land. Shanks and Zechs make quick work of the archery game, Turk enters an exhibition fight to test his new abilities but gets promptly defeated, and Galahad has… a slightly more unique experience.

The champion of Bahamut enters the jousting competition, summoning a pegasus as his mount. He loses the first match with the crowd favorite, The Red Knight, but with such a great battle, they go into a rematch right away. We see Galahad the victor, but he brings the Knight near death’s door, thankfully bringing him back with Lay on Hands. He hands him some coins as an apology and promptly leaves. In his exit, he unfurls the pegasus wings and hits a few onlookers with them before flying off. The rest of the crew split into groups. Turk and Zechs head to a fortune teller and get some very on-the-nose readings. Arguile and Shanks head to the casino, later meeting up with Zechs and Turk, where some had better luck than others.