09/20/2025
Star and Scale decided the best course of action was to discover if Dulce was on the run intentionally, or if she wanted to return to Eve, as the Lady's Grimm had suggested.
The group left the abandoned house with the purple rose garden and Galdarion family portrait and found themselves witness to the Midnight Dance, a nightly parade in Othrund which gathered a large crowd of its citizenry.
During the parade, a tarot reader pulled Zeb and Eden aside with a desire to help Zeb understand part of what he'd be facing soon.
She told him about a need to restore a balance, place 10 crowns on 10 heads, and choose grief when making a choice between two paths. She also spoke of two friends, each with holes within them, that needed to be addressed to restore the balance. Additionally, someone Zeb knew but didnt necessarily love would need to die.
Meanwhile, Markus was pulled aside by Omnia, who told Markus he was now able to be tracked by Nefaria, and that he needed to stay with Star and Scale since they'd found a way to sever her ability to track them.
Omnia explained she was trying to stop another Constellation War, and to do so, she'd need to hurt a lot of people, but that was the only way she saw through the conflict. She left Markus in the hopes he would stay with the group and allow Nefaria to track where they were.
Meanwhile, Elowyn felt a pull to a nearby tavern where she found Gift waiting for her. On her way there, she was hit in the head with a dagel, half donut, half bagel.
Gift told her he was having trouble giving Markus the slip, and asked if she could help. Elowyn convinced Gift that if all Markus wanted to do was talk, Gift should do so.
The group gathered back together after their respective conversations and found Dulce in the Midnight Dance.
She revealed herself to the group, but in so doing, revealed herself to the crowd, and the citizens of Othrund rejoiced in seeing one of their queens out among the people.Â
This drew the attention of Parliament, however, and Star and Scale fought off their soldiers at the behest of Dulce, who seemed to want to see what they could do against the soldiers.
After the fight, the group and Dulce left, and through a telekinetic connection they were able to communicate with her.
They learned that when Parliament severed Eve's connection to Cloudthinner, they also affected Eve's control over Dulce as well, allowing Dulce to escape her influence, though some of that control still remained.
They also learned Dulce had fallen in love with the palace chef, but he had gone missing. Elowyn realized this was the man who had left Othrund with Tough as Dirt, and it was obvious Dulce wanted to reunite with him as soon as possible.
Before doing so, however, the group decided they needed to address the Cloudthinner situation, and resolved to sneak into Cloudthinner's domain to speak with him.