While we marvel at the haddie named Motley Crouton that Rittlin acquired through questionable means, Momen mulls over his list of requirements for creating a control crystal. He’s hoping to create one to avoid needing to cast a spell everyday just to keep control of Nyx.
Merric informs us that he securely sent the Black Crown to Marquis Marquaad while we were gone. He also reminds us of the contents of the chests upstairs in some of the past Monster Basher’s rooms - Momen fishes through Desdemona’s chest and finds a vial of incubus blood, which he determines to be functionally equivalent to succubus blood for the purposes of the control crystal recipe. We discuss the matter of the Ooze, and recount that they typically reside in dark and damp abandoned locations. We contemplate briefly, and make our way to Elkwood.
Amongst the several abandoned buildings in town, we locate the largest. I brace myself to rip the boards off the door and grossly underestimate the sturdiness of the structure, ripping the doorframe clean out of the wall and landing flat on my back. Wriggling out from underneath the doorframe, I spot the shimmering goop of the black pudding on the ceiling. We back up from the entrance and make several ranged attacks, making quick work of the ooze. Momen then meticulously scoops up 40 gallons of slime and places it in a barrel that he brought, plopping it onto Tenser’s Floating Disk as we float it back towards the CCMB. Tittlin fishes through his gem collection to procure the final ingredient for the control crystal.
Merric gathers us all during dinner and runs us through the proceedings for the upcoming The Feast of Lady Melisenda, noting that there will likely be little focus on the battle re-enactments given the actual war that happened and lack of eager young men to perform. I ask Merric if there’s any preparations that we can assist with, and he says that he’s all good but some of the townsfolk may need assistance. Just as he says this, a man with a chef’s hat and a spatula bursts in through the front door. He (Franklin) tells us that he fears he’s going to lose the upcoming ice cream competition at the Feast because his competitor apparently has a mind-blowing secret ingredient. We’re quite apprehensive towards helping him, although his bright idea is apparently that he wants to make ice cream with monster parts! We immediately begin consulting Goras (who, notably, made dragon jerky) about the potential of monster parts for cooking. We consider magic instead for flavouring and illusions, but ultimately discard it given that it would likely be looked down upon by the judges. Goras proposes a number of different options that all seem a bit too meaty, but he then proposes the Rime Worm - a large amphibious slug-like creature that grows ice crystals on its back. Franklin bids us farewell and asks us to let him know if we do intend to help. We discuss the economics for a while and eventually decide to help, noting that we can probably find one in the mountains northwest of Elkwood. Goras also notes that it should preserve quite well on its own due to its anatomy, so long as we don’t waste our time in returning.
We decide to head out the following morning - in the meantime, Momen works on his control crystals and I take a stroll around town to soak up the festival preparation. A lot of it is quite electric, with plenty of cooking, song, and dance already going on. The less fortunate parts of town have a more dampened vibe, and still seem to largely be mourning those lost in the recent battle. They seem to be much more focused on the construction of effigies, and I recognize some of the symbols and emblems as I make my way past. Before turning in for the evening, Momen announces that he has successfully produced a control crystal, and embeds it into Nyx.