Meet the Parents (COT3-1c)

• Session takes place primarily on Friday, December 18th, 2009. Several days have elapsed since the episode began.

Welcome to the Jungle

While on the 19-hour plane ride, Nerick helps prepare the party for their visit to Earth. He secures fake identities for them, including passports from St. Kitts and Nevis. With some help from Kara's psionics, they pick up several local languages in a hurry. They memorize great amounts of information relevant to their fictitious backstories in preparation for their customs interviews. Finally, the craft takes on a load of fine, modern clothing to outfit them properly.

Landing in LAX, they breeze through customs, perhaps with the help of some subtle psionic "nudging". Once free, they board a limousine for their final destination.

Braving the morning traffic, the limousine departs LAX for downtown. Along the way, Nerick introduces the party to the concept of In-N-Out Burgers. They are perplexed, but pleased.

Complications

Arriving at Paradox Plaza, headquarters of Paradox, Inc., they arrange a meeting with the company's President and CEO: Dorian Adricus. The meeting is brief, as he has an important meeting to attend imminently, pertinent to some major public announcement the company is making later that night.

He seems to recognize them on sight, without needing an introduction from Nerick. Keket he recognizes personally, the others being too recently ascended to the world stage to remember. In any case, he seems to already know why they have come. Unlike Nerick, he presses them on their origin and reasons, forcing them to reveal that they are not here to do Lucia's bidding, exactly.

Dorian defers judgment on the matter of what his daughter's destiny on Toril might be. However, he makes it very clear, using no uncertain terms, that should they try to take his daughter away from him...he will kill each and every one of them.

He then calmly goes along to his meeting.

With that avenue exhausted, they proceed to Beverly Hills, to meet the girl herself, and of course her mother.

American Beauty

The limousine bears them to the Adricus family's winter home, a mansion perched on the bluffs overlooking the city and the ocean. They arrive in the early afternoon, before school is out; the home's only resident awaits them.

Hyacinth Knight, looking warm, welcoming, and absolutely stunning for a 50-year-old, reduces Nerick to a stammering mess as he introduces the travelers. She extends her hospitality, and listens to their story.

They learn of her initial journey to Toril, some twenty years past. They learn of the Nightmare Crisis, its origins on Earth, and the consequences it very nearly had for both worlds. They learn of her closeness with Lucia, how they took in Lily alongside their own natural children.

She clarifies that she and Dorian have never revealed to Lily her true origins, or even that she is adopted. She accepts Ani's case that a girl in her position ought to know, despite how painful it might be for a parent to say. While understandably resistant to the idea of letting a bunch of weird aliens steal her daughter away, she does agree to at least tell her the truth.

Soon, her eldest daughter Lucita arrives home, though she is far too caught up in socializing to take notice of the visitors. Shortly thereafter, Lily arrives. More perceptive, or at least less distracted than her sister, she is surprised by the party, and seems put-off by their presence.

Hyacinth attempts to broach the topic, but falters, soon dismissing her uncomfortable daughter to ready herself. It seems the whole family has a gala event to attend this very night--they will be with Dorian as he makes his company's big announcement. With that, the party departs for now, the timing seemingly poor for their meeting.

A Revolution

Nerick puts them up at a local hotel to await a better time to chat with the family. Raithen suggests letting them tag along at the Paradox media event. As Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Nerick is certainly able to invite them. He sees no problem, though they will have to prepare in a hurry.

For defeating a ridiculous number of winter wights:

• 21,000 epic xp (new total: 45,000 epic xp each, level 23)
• Party is owed 2,922 gp, including the previous debt of 190 gp. This will be settled up in a future treasure haul.