January 14, 2024

Hook

Hanakawa Days 1 (Lithicore Ranch, Ruefang, Cahyali)

Plot Synopsis

The party decided that having a loose Lithicore asset might not be good for Null’s nascent brand, and so started exploring the Ranch to try to find 414. On the outskirts of town by the lake and Takeda Hanakawa’s convenience store, the pair met Tamanegi and Sakana, a retired earth mage and marine (respectively). Tamanegi ate an onion like an apple causing Null to experience a crisis of faith in the dirt gods, and Bosie to develop an immediate respect. Sakana fished up a horrifically mutated, living Big Mouth Billy Bass and Homer fished up a real trophy trout. Nikolas spooked the fish. The old adventurers knew something about 414, whose name was revealed as Yoichishi Hanabi. She was formerly the eldest of Zero’s three daughters, but was murdered six years ago as the final test of the Impure Gilded Reincarnation network, the machines responsible for respawning Lithicore employees. Takeda Hanakawa explained that the mechanism involves the superposition of a soul’s energy as a wave and the use of jinghua’s radiation (which happens to exist on the same plane as a departed soul) to rebond the soul back to a body by transmuting gold. By rearranging the crystals of jinghua, the radiation could be used to change the shape the soul would take, which is how Hanabi became what she is. The party then got hired to work at Hanakawa’s store to keep her safe from people hunting the bounty. First they’re going to take her to Lithicore Garden, the rebranded theme park in downtown Lithicore Ranch. They also caught a bluegill named Jerry(?) and suspended it in Bubbles and a box jellyfish for them to use as a weapon. Also met Hanabi’s bass Gus. Nikolas got to try deep and shallow fist fishing. In the shallows he only got a little baby bass, but in the deep he got a world record sturgeon. He and his new husband Strong Terry plan to grill it as steaks for dinner on the first night of their honeymoon.

Noteworthy Postgame Events