Blades in the Heart: The Pink Fart

[Part of the Party Time journal]

The next day the team meets Mara, their new liaison to Lord Governor Kotar, who goes with DL and Rose to Bellweather crematorium which had been flagged as another ritual site. The Spirit Wardens within haven't been doing their jobs as they're still being "repaired" by the new master builder Bob, but obviously this is a ruse as Bob is working with the cult. While Bob (in his robot suit) is easily defeated, Rose manages to convince the remaining wardens that they aren't bad and succeeds. Mara is super impressed with this and wants to be her student. As this is one of Rose's dream goals, she gains the ability to fly.

Meanwhile, Juris and Mom work for Lord Elon to find his cousin (Fartinghard) who he believes is in danger. In exchange Elon will divulge a possible new ritual site that's cropped up. While his child workers really do intend to kill him, they haven't yet and they find the slouch blind drunk on his new pink barge. After convincing the murderous kids that they'll "handle it", Juris helps Quill pull Fartinghard's spirit out and put the spirit of Quill's deceased brother in the body. Juris then anchors Fartinghard's spirit to the barge which they rename "the Pink Fart" and take it as their own then succeed their bluff to Elon that Fartinghard's "ok, just drunk". Elon reveals the new location to be near the eelfarms but the team ignores it to first go to the site at the North Hook Lighthouse (via their new boat).

There they encounter a humorous lighthouse keeper hull who is very forthcoming by telling them "don't disturb the ritual upstairs and definitely don't look at the bombs in the basement", so DL disarms the bombs, mom disrupts the ritual site and Juris tries to free the hull of his master's control - but fails. Instead in his mindscape Juris encounters his teacher Quellyn, who reveals she has been keeping him safe by blocking out traumatic memories. Due to his continued interference she lets one return: "Did your best friend Flint ever forgive you for experimenting on his girlfriend's soul?"

This breaks Juris and puts him in a trauma coma so the team grab him and Rose, who decided to check out the nearby masquerade street party being held by (vampiress) Lady Freya Oriolle who wishes to unseat Lady Drake from her magistracy seat, before getting back on the Pink Fart and sailing back to base to recover. For her actions today mom also gains a new ability - she can now "eat" trauma. Hers or anyone else's (for a mystery penalty). Juris doesn't like the sound of that so just prefers to take the trauma hit normally.