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Keep Sharp is the third episode of season 5, A Crown of Candy.
As the Taste Buds finally arrive in Comida, they meet a whole host of new characters, from old friends to important political figures. Amethar catches up with some war buddies, Manta Ray Jack and Sir Morris Brie, while Ruby and Liam meet Captain Annabelle Cheddar, the previous heir to the Dairy Island throne. Sitting there instead is Duchess Primsy Coldbottle, who Theobald keeps an eye on as she dines with Lord Stilton Curdeau. Jet meets up with Thad for the first time in ten years, and Lapin heads off with the Pontifex Belizabeth Brassica and several other members of the church: Archbishop Oliver Onionpatch, Sir Keradin Deeproot, and Archbishop Fettucina Alfredi. At the end of the day's festivities, they sign up for the events they hope to compete in the next day.
Recap[]
"Last we left our intrepid heroes, they were on the border of Candia on the Sucrosi Road. It has been 20 years since the end of the Ravening War between the six kingdoms of Calorum, and since that time it has been 20 years of peace, governed over by the Concordant Emperor, Gustavo Uvano. Now according to the laws of the Concord, which gives equal precedence to each of the six kingdoms, Gustavo has to choose an heir from a different kingdom, cannot choose his own biological heir, it must come from a different nation. This is the compact that was signed at the end of the Great War between all the various heads of state."
"A letter arrived that Gustavo had fallen ill, so King Amethar Rocks and his family, the Princesses Jet and Ruby, his advisor, the Chancellor Lapin Cadbury, his Lord Commander of his forces, a knight, Sir Theobald Gumbar, and a royal ward, being kept hostage as part of a political negotiation with the rebel House Jawbreaker, have all headed to Comida, the capital of the Concordant Empire. They were waylaid on their way by a group of marauders wielding bacon steel weapons and various meat crossbows, but when they struck them down, their blood ran cheesy."
Synopsis[]
Sitting in one of their envoy carriages still soaked in her own blood, Princess Ruby Rocks pulls the flyer for the Traveling Swirler Sisters out of her doublet. She moves to cast Prestidigitation to clean it off, but Lord Calroy Cruller stops her and suggests she start practicing discretion He tells her about her aunt, Archmage Lazuli, who they were trained to call simply a "proficient alchemist" when speaking of her outside of Candia. Chancellor Lapin Cadbury chimes in as well, mentioning that if people knew the truth about where his power came from, he'd be dead. Sir Theobald Gumbar joins the three of them in the carriage and mentions that this coordinated attack on the king may have been because of Candia's more tolerant beliefs.
Outside, as Liam Wilhelmina assists in chopping up the tree that blocked their path, he finds several magical seeds inside the trunk. He feeds them to Preston, and Preston shoots off into the air, landing on the roof of a nearby farmhouse. Princess Jet helps Liam get Preston down off the roof, and Liam identifies the seeds as Heart Seeds, which are extremely rare magical (minor) wish-granting seeds produced by peppermint trees that have had magic cast on them. It seems that Preston had wished to be able to fly.
Jet then approaches Liam and asks for his help in watching over Ruby. Liam agrees, since he only has one friend who can't talk because he's a pig. Jet kneels before him and promises to find him the greatest seed ever in exchange for his help, then goes to search the battle field for a shield. Liam begins to discuss a dream he had with Preston.
As King Amethar lies wounded but recovering in a carriage, Commander Constano Grassini tells him how grateful he is that everyone survived, or else he would have surely laid down his spear and resigned. The King assures him that they were doing just fine by themselves. He comments on how insufferable Lapin and Theobald are usually, but that it felt really, really good to be out fighting again. He tells Grassini that he's not interested in sitting around, and they make haste in setting off again for Comida.
Jet proposes that she walk outside with the Imperial soldiers, more specifically, Grissini, so that she can flirt with him, but also to spy on the soldiers, as she tells Ruby later. Both Theobald and Lapin protest and call her back into the carriage, and Grissini offers instead to take the reins of the Meeps together later in the day.
In a stroke of genius, Liam offers his help, since he can speak Ceresian, but the moment is lost when he switches abruptly to talking about dreams again. From there, the conversation jumps around until Calroy attempts to straighten the party out by telling them that the attack was not random. It was, without a doubt, an assassination attempt on the king, and although Ruby, a highborn citizen of Calorum, would not be killed for using magic, her life as a Princess could be made very unpleasant if the Bulbian Church was to catch wind.
Ever protective of her sister, Jet threatens to renounce the Concord should such a thing ever happen to Ruby, and among the ruckus that erupts afterwards, King Amethar slams Payment Day down in the carriage, silencing everyone. He tells them to stop fighting and start listening and promptly passes out. Lady Donetta Cruller tends to his wounds.
Ruby expresses her confusion about her powers: if they came from the Bulb, why are they so bad? The party stresses to her that her magic is not bad, and that it also did not come from the Bulb. There are other powerful beings out there, like the Great Beasts in the Meat Lands, but in the eyes of politics and the Concord, there is only the Bulb. Sometimes everybody has to say a thing even though we know it's not true. Jet intends to change this when she gets into power. Lapin confirms with Jet that he's proved his motivations and Liam apologizes for breaking his teacup, briefly drawing Calroy's suspicion.
As they enter Fructera for the first time, they meet up with their advance guard and more Imperial guard, becoming almost like a whole army marching down the main highway. Theobald invites Ruby and Jet for some fresh air outside with him. Liam invites himself too. Outside, Theobald talks to them about his past and drops some pretty big bombs about their Aunt Lazuli: way back when, he had served as a ward under Lazuli where she taught him magic, she was doing secret arcane research, and that she sacrificed herself to save Candia's armies because, as Theobald believes, she knew Ruby was coming. Lady Donetta steps out of the carriage to ask for help in finding medicinal herbs for King Amethar, and Liam enthusiastically volunteers.
Amethar thanks Liam and Lady Donetta for their help. Calroy takes Liam aside and speaks to him about his father, explaining why he's being kept hostage at Castle Candy: since Duke Joren Jawbreaker made himself a traitor during the Ravening War, Liam's presence at the castle allows him to keep his title and land without having to agree to the Concord.
They spend many more days on the road to Comida. At night, Theobald and the Princesses practice magic and fighting. On the night before they reach Comida, Ruby casts Find Familiar and a butterscotch falcon flies in and lands on her arm. She names him Yak. On the morning before they arrive in Comida, Calroy approaches Theobald to inform him that some of the Ceresian soldiers have been talking about Ruby's magic during their battle. He also questions him about Lapin, but Theo prefers not to answer when Lapin isn't around, as he doesn't want more rumors.
On the 30th of Hightbright, they finally arrive in Comida. As they enter, they see Scravoya Myaso and some Meatlander soliders, who Jet attempts to impress with her shield "Burnt Ends", but they don't notice. Intimidated by all the citizens of high status, Ruby puts on her circlet, and Jet follows suit. As Amethar steps out of the carriage, Manta Ray Jack, an old war buddy of his, pounces on him, and they have a very loud, violent reunion. Sir Morris Brie, another old friend of Amethar's, also greets him. Standing among other Dairy citizens, they spot Duchess Primsy Coldbottle and Captain Annabelle Cheddar.
Ruby approaches Annabelle and awkwardly introduces herself, and they chat briefly before Ruby excuses herself. Still worried about the attack by the Cheese Marauders, Theobald consults Amethar about speaking to some Meatlanders, since the marauders were dressed in meat. Amethar mentions he wants to talk to Manta Ray Jack about it, and insists that he knows who his friends are when Theobald cautions him about trusting others.
The party watches as the Ceresian Sentaors arrive, accompanied by masses of Ceresian soldiers. The diplomatic envoy from Vegetania also arrives, carrying Prince Nezemiah Cabbage in the royal carriage, and in the largest carriage, Pontifex Belizabeth Brassica. As she exits with Archbishop Oliver Onionpatch, she invites Lapin to join her in the Great Pyramid of Food to pay respects to the Concordant Emperor, which he accepts.
Theobald and Amethar agree not to leave the Princesses unattended when Lapin sneaks up and frightens Amethar with his request to join the Pontifex. Amethar asks Lord Finnegan Swirlie to make graces with the senators of Ceresia, while the rest of them enter the banquet hall. They settle at a table and Theobald warns Liam, Jet, and Ruby that someone there had set them up, so they'd better be careful who they talk to.
Amethar finds his Dairy Island friends again and approaches Primsy, who's standing with Sir Morris. They exchange compliments, and Amethar requests to speak with Sir Morris privately. He asks Sir Morris about the attacks as Theobald observes from afar.
[1:19:00]
Locations[]
Featured Characters[]
The Taste Buds[]
- Sir Theobald Gumbar
- Chancellor Lapin Cadbury
- Princess Jet Rocks
- Princess Ruby Rocks
- King Amethar
- Liam Wilhelmina
New[]
Returning[]
- Lord Calroy Cruller
- Peppermint Preston
- Commander Constano Grissini
- Limon Longhalls
- Lord Finnegan Swirlie
- Master Dippins
- Sprinkle