Arthur Splits the Rescue Plan

The long rest ends with a fork in the road.

Arthur chooses the institutional route. He will go to VQU, speak with Baron von Queef, and gather the kind of support that can turn the next operation into more than another desperate breach. Elmyra goes with him once she realizes her friends are back in the university thread.

The rest of QUEST turns toward Velvet Cross.

Valara and Emmy return from their search worn thin but carrying the important answer: Maine is free, and he is somewhere inside the Rabe House network. That makes the party's immediate objective smaller, stranger, and more personal. Arthur goes for leverage. The party goes for Maine.