In the panic surrounding the implosion of Xaryxis, the party headed to the imperial palace. However, they parted ways with Kiboko at that time. Kiboko would head to the Great Orrery to help in the process of flying the Imperial Citadel out of Xaryxispace. [At this time, Kiboko would also retire from his adventuring days and become an NPC.]
As the party entered the the palace grounds, they were met by an air genasi. Dressed for success, the former pirate lord sought an audience with the returned princess Xedalli, believing the disguised Idakath to be her. He introduced himself as Zeirm. [Zeirm would be the character to replace Kiboko for his player.] Drawing on the memories of Xedalli, Idakath reasoned that someone outside the normal imperial court, but who also was clearly looking to rub the right shoulders to get there, might be worth having around.
With Zeirm now in tow, the party continued for the palace. They would be interrupted once again by the leader of Xedalli’s bodyguards and her personal trainer. [This character would replace Charlie for her player.] The bodyguard, a human named Cahya, knew Xedalli very well from her years of training. This would lead to Idakath having to acknowledge being an imposter in short order. She was ultimately able to convince Cahya that she was looking to help the empire, not hurt it. Cahya agreed to let Idakath keep her secret, though Cahya would keep close because she did not trust her.
Finally entering the palace, they were met by the palace’s chief of staff, an astral elf named Beimior. Beimior would welcome the newly ascended empress home. He would offer the party rooms to rest in and to fetch Vanua, the head chef, to prepare a meal for them.
Before the party would do either of those things, they made a path for the imperial vaults. The vaults were accessed through the basement, though the doorway was actually a portal to a pocket dimension. They dismissed the door guards to peruse the vault in peace. They noted many wondrous items, but ultimately decided it would be a bad idea to loot the vault right away.
They left the vault and returned to the emperor’s personal dining room for a meal. Over the course of their meal, they tried to figure out what they should do next. Before they got too deep into their plans, Idakath requested that Beimior speak with the Minister of Truth so that she could arrange a speaking engagement for the general populace.
The party would return to the Temple of Light to give that speech. During the speech, Idakath, still in the guise of Xedalli, would reassure the people that the citadel was being moved out of Xaryxispace, and that they would survive the death of Xaryxis.
Returning to the palace, the party thought through what they wanted to do next. In a combination of feeling the need to do right by her newly-acquired people and wanting to be out of the path of scrutiny, Idakath wanted to get off-world to “rediscover the path” of her people. They all reasoned that everything they did would be at risk until Xeleth was dealt with, so hunting him down would become their top priority.