Demons of Port Valor

Session 50
We wake up the next morning, a little nervous about our meeting with Orrin Stormshield! Although a trip to the library is still on the table, we figure that should wait until after the meeting, so we can try to get a read on Orrin first. We also don’t want to be late! Ashara also considers using Sending to update Kain on what’s happening, but decides to wait until after the meeting just in case anything significant happens there. Kilwin thinks we should maybe come clean with Orrin fairly easily, since everyone working with the Burning Knight presumably already knows about the Crests and where they are, although the rest of the party thinks that could draw unwanted attention to us. They might not know we’re trying to interfere! Ashara also reflects on what she knows about Seaton from her travels, since it was also on the list of cities with Abyssal Crests. It’s the largest port city in Lyvernus and trades with every other port city on the eastern seaboard, sending many goods to the northern part of the continent. The city itself is built into the slope of a small hill that goes into the sea, and people travel via canals that flow downhill. The water from the canals reenters the hill through portals that send the water back to the top of the hill.
 * Google Document (3-11-22)

We decide to leave the Paragon’s Rest at 8 AM so we can take the scenic route to the Stormshield estate and still show up a little early. Our walk is fairly uneventful. We pass some dwarves who are going about their business, expressing a similar mix of attitudes about current events that we observed yesterday. We also notice that there’s grates in the middle of the road with lava visibly flowing beneath them. However, they’re not actually hot for whatever reason. Kilwin has some totally unfounded anxiety about accidentally dropping something important into one of the grates.

We arrived at the gates of the Stormshield estate in the Diamond Ward at 10:45 AM, exactly as planned. The building is three stories tall and surrounded by low outer walls. Inside the walls, there’s a small garden with actual grass, which is a little surprising. The main building is quite wide and has tall stone doors in the center, adorned with a large metal knocker. We knock and wait a while, and eventually a finely dressed dwarven butler with a cloth over his arm answers the door. He recognizes us as the expected adventurers and looks us over, raising an eyebrow at Jorah (since he’s the scruffiest of us currently). We are allowed in and escorted through an entrance hall adorned with ornate tiles to a sitting room, similar in setup to Mayor Irwin’s in Vila’s Watch but nicer. The chairs and tables are made of stone and set into the ground. After we sit down in the smaller chairs, the butler steps out for a moment and returns with another dwarf. This dwarf has medium length gray hair tied in a ponytail and a neat gray beard. He’s wearing an intricately patterned dark blue robe, white pants, and dark boots. He gives us a tight smile and welcomes us before sitting in the room’s largest chair. The butler stands behind him. Orrin thanks us for bringing him the arcane focus, taking it from Reides. He admits that he’s lucky we came along, as he’s been staying out of the political sphere recently and has fallen out of favor with King Khaduum. After being prompted by Kilwin, Orrin clarifies that the king’s full name is King Thoros Khaduum. Orrin thinks that the gift of the arcane focus of a mad wizard who created a metal dragon will at least get him enough favor with the king to get back on the guest list for the Bequeathing Ceremony. We ask what that is! Orrin explains that every year, the ruling monarch of the Underempire chooses a loyal subject and rewards them for their service by bequeathing them with an item of their choosing from the royal armory. Orrin isn’t that interested in the Bequeathing itself since being selected involves a lot of grandstanding and flattery, and he’s not that interested in the arms to begin with, but he usually enjoys the accompanying party. Reides agrees that court is a big pain in the butt. Orrin seems to relax a little at this. Orrin thinks that King Thoros has a good heart, but is kind of a sucker for flattery. He really hates the whole atmosphere of it. Orrin does, however, really enjoy the food at the king’s banquets, so each year, he tries to make a good enough gift to be invited so he can eat. Ashara is a bit outraged that we asked to undertake such a dangerous task for such a frivolous reason, but Jorah and Kilwin think it was something that someone needed to take care of anyway, and Reides can respect the ulterior motive. He suggests taking a bag of holding or something like it to take home as much food as he can. Orrin enjoys the idea, but he’s pretty sure he’d get uninvited from all future banquets and doesn’t want to risk that.

Jorah asks who’s most in favor with the king. Orrin admits he’s not a very good source since he stays out of court as much as he can, but he would guess Warden Dunan Slagmeld. Orrin has only met Dunan in passing, but he’s getting the item, so he was the most successful bootlicker of the year. Orrin really doesn’t know much about Dunan’s character though: At court, he meets people, forgets them, and then hopes he never has to see them ever again. Reides gets it! Jorah then changes the topic of conversation. He says that’s been trying to figure out people’s opinions on what happened in Port Valor. Orrin thinks it’s a terrible tragedy, but hadn’t heard any of the details that Jorah mentions, like the presence of raiders or the fact that they were looking for something. He’s very sincerely saddened by what he’s heard from merchants who just avoided the blast. Orrin asks us for news from outside, and we tell him that there’s a rebuilding effort, although it will take quite some time. Reides asks how the Exeter is doing in terms of safety, but Orrin thinks the only thing we should worry about is some possible xenophobia, although he thinks we could probably blend in and avoid most of it. Reides thinks he kind of inherently sticks out, which Orrin concedes.

Ashara telepathically asks us if she should try to read Orrin’s thoughts. Reides is opposed to this, Jorah thinks trying wouldn’t be a bad idea so long as she can avoid tipping him off to doing it, and Kilwin thinks Ashara would be the best judge of it. Ashara decides against reading Orrin’s thoughts, since it’s not something she’s very comfortable doing anyway. Jorah decides to stop beating around the bush, apologizing to the party since he didn’t really talk it over with them. He explains that we traveled here from Port Valor and are trying to stop anything similar from happening in the Exeter by looking for powerful artifacts that the forces behind the tragedy in Port Valor are also looking for, to ensure their security. In each case, the item was in possession of high-ranking nobility and targeted by a threat from within. Currently, Jorah thinks that trying to learn everything we can from Orrin is our best option. Orrin is willing to believe this, and tells us that, if we’re correct, the Plate of the Ancestors is probably the artifact we’re looking for, since that’s what Dunan has selected for the Bequeathing. Kilwin asks if the plate has some kind of design emblazoned on it, perhaps a crest. Orrin has never seen the Plate, though, since it doesn’t come out of the armory normally. It was actually outside of the Exeter for a long time, but it was returned about ten years ago. Kilwin explains the objects we’re looking for are called Abyssal Crests, and Jorah mentions that people searching for them have caused mass death in Port Valor and Malino’re. Orrin is very concerned because he hadn’t heard anything about Malino’re, but Kilwin explains what happened there and assures him that it’s as safe as anywhere else currently.

Jorah thinks that Orrin is pretty trustworthy, and the worst things we’ve heard about him have come from Orrin’s own mouth. They weren’t even particularly bad! Orrin admits that he just wants the Exeter to be safe. He’s not entirely sure about these Crests, but if they are a thing, he thinks they would be in the king’s armory. Kilwin asks if the armory is well-guarded during the Bequeathment Ceremony. Orrin says it has to be opened to get the desired artifact, but it’s not like it’s open to the public. Orrin is a little concerned about Kilwin’s intentions, but Kilwin swears he’s just asking in case the Bequeathing is actually providing an opportunity for someone other than Dunan to steal the real Abyssal Crest. He doesn’t even want an Abyssal Crest with him! Orrin admits there’s a lot of other artifacts in the armory which may or may not be important to our quest, but he doesn’t know many of them. He does mention an item called the Earthbreaker Maul, though. Reides tells Orrin that he needs to start kissing ass immediately to try to get the Bequeathment instead of Dunan, but Orrin says it’s a bit late for that, since the ceremony is in a week’s time. He’s also unlikely to be able to get us invitations, since the atmosphere in the city is a little more hostile than usual, and he barely had the pull to get us into the city in the first place. We realize that we might need to investigate the jail and Jorah suspects that the easiest way in would be in chains, but none of us really want to do that, especially Reides. Kilwin thinks Dunan’s prison is probably much worse than the cages in Vila’s Watch and that experience made him want to avoid imprisonment at all costs. He clarifies that he did not actually commit a crime, he was just bitten by a werewolf, and also he is not actually a werewolf. Jorah comments that Kilwin has an alarming habit of oversharing! Kilwin also asks how insular the Exeter is- if a dwarf were to just suddenly appear in the city without being known to people, would anyone think it was unusual? Orrin is a little confused by this line of questioning, and Kilwin is just on the verge of letting the beans spill about the Hat of Disguise when Jorah slaps him on the back. This interrupts Kilwin, who apologizes for talking too much. He promises it’s fine that Jorah hit them because they’re friends! Orrin is still confused! He’s sorry he can’t do more to help us, but we assure him that he’s helped us a lot, even just by getting us into the city. We do ask, though, that if he learns anything new or finds anyone who might be able to get us into the Bequeathing Ceremony, he should let us know. He knows where to find us! Before we leave, Orrin assures us that King Thoros has a good heart, and his first decree as king was that no one would go hungry again. We also ask where we might be able to find Dunan Slagmeld. Orrin can only think of Magma Slag Rock, the prison that Dunan runs. It’s about a mile north of the city, on an island in the center of a lake of lava. Orrin isn’t really sure how people get back and forth from the prison. We thank Orrin for his help again, and take our leave.

After we leave, Jorah pulls us aside and apologizes for sharing so much with Orrin without asking us. Generally, we’re pretty sure that Orrin is trustworthy and we’re not overly worried about it. We do think that we should try to research Dunan Slagmeld instead of Orrin when we hit the library, though. We make that our next destination and spend about an hour getting directions to the library in the Sapphire District. Jorah keeps an eye for anyone following us, but doesn’t notice anyone suspicious. The library is smaller than some of the ones we’ve seen, only a single storey tall, but as wide as the Stormshield estate and a bit deeper. Although Kilwin and Jorah are the only ones able to read the books that are in Dwarvish, they show Reides and Ashara the runes they should keep an eye out for. Ashara attempts to research Dunan Slagmeld, but quickly realizes that no books have been written about him, so she shifts her focus to the Bequeathing Ceremony. Reides looks for information on Magma Slag Rock, and Kilwin and Jorah work together to find what they can about the Plate of the Ancestors.

Jorah and Kilwin find decent information, mostly confirming what Orrin told them about the Plate. There’s no information about its origins, whereabouts before ten years ago, or any powers it might have, but they do find a physical description of it: A set of armor with a golden hue, emblazoned with the image of a shield with a flame across the chest. Reides finds a lot of information about the prison, confirming that it really is in the middle of a lake of lava. He learns that the prison is accessed by placing a pair of special amulets on pedestals at the same time, which summons a bridge from within the lava. Cooling runes on the bridge quickly negate the hazard of walking across it. Magma Slag Rock has existed for about 400 years, and the book goes into detail about a former head warden named Bervo Gemmgarl, who was likely Dunan’s predecessor. The position of head warden isn’t hereditary, but is given to a noble and it’s a life position. Reides can’t find any information on the qualifications or selection process for the position beyond that. Magma Slag Rock houses the worst criminals in the Underempire and conditions inside are generally pretty horrid. Strict rationing is fairly common, since the lake of lava sometimes prevents shipments from arriving. Ashara reads that the Bequeathing takes place once a year and rewards one person the king deems to have been the most helpful. The bequeathment is generally temporary, and the items are returned once the reigning king dies in order to continue the tradition. However, in rare cases, the royal family allows someone to keep an item permanently, and occasionally items become lost. However, it’s considered an important tradition, so the royal family continues it despite the risks.

Jorah points out that Dunan might not even be involved with our quest at all, but Reides thinks all that flattery is suspicious. We don’t have many leads to go on yet, though. Jorah also doesn’t like this idea, but points out that we’re four obvious outsiders to the city, so it might be wise for us to split up into smaller groups if we decide to investigate the palace or the prison. Kilwin sees what Jorah is saying, but also agrees that he hates the idea. Reides is pretty sure he’s going to be clockable no matter what, though, and desperately needs some water. Kilwin offers him his waterskin. Kilwin thinks we could ask Ragni if there’s some way for commoners to interact with the Bequeathing Ceremony, which the party generally thinks is a good idea.

We head back to the Paragon’s Rest to talk to Ragni. They ask what we’ll be drinking, so Kilwin orders an ale, but everyone else just wants water. We ask if they’ve heard of the Bequeathing Ceremony, and they describe it as “some noble gets some cool shit.” We act very interested in seeing it as a cultural ceremony and ask if there’s a way for commoners or outsiders to get in. Ragni assures us there isn’t. Jorah asks if they might be looking to hire help for it, but Ragni knows that the royal palace is very well staffed currently. They say we could try, though! They also say we could just try to sneak in, although the consequences would be steep and we might get sent to Magma Slag Rock. Reides pretends to have never heard of Magma Slag Rock, as does Jorah, and they manage to fool Ragni. They explains the basics of what we already know and tell us it’s a terrible place where people only get two meals a day. A few former inmates have come to the Paragon’s Rest, and none of them were happy about their time there. It’s a rough place, and from what Ragni’s heard, the main problems isn’t necessarily the guards, but they do allow it. They’ve heard word of terrible violences, including some kind of tournaments. Reides asks if Ragni has seen any of their ex-con friends around lately, although Ragni says that once people leave Magma Slag Rock, they usually leave the Exeter all together so they never have to go back. The main ones they know left for Falas. Reides admits he’s had his prison experience, so he can’t blame them at all. Ragni is a little surprised, but Reides’s coin is good, so they don’t mind. They say his names are good too, and point out the addition of Pog Coffee to the official menu, available for 1 silver. Someone arrives at the door, and Ragni leaves the bar to see who it is.

We take a moment to talk among ourselves. Kilwin remarks that this information has lowered his opinion of Dunan Slagmeld even more. None of us want to go to jail. As for the palace, Jorah is unsure if Kilwin’s idea of using the Hat of Disguise to infiltrate the palace is a good idea though. He’s probably the best party member to go on a subterfuge mission alone and let the rest of us in, but he doesn’t think he could pull it off. Reides is extremely charming and thinks confidence could get one of us a long way, but doesn’t speak Dwarvish. Despite floating the idea of using Ashara’s telepathy to ferry translations between Reides and one of the two Dwarvish speakers, Kilwin thinks that might be too complicated to actually work. Jorah is also unsure if Reides would be able to convincingly portray a servant as a (former?) noble, although Reides doesn’t think he has enough actual court experience to actually blend in with the nobles anyway.

Ragni comes back holding some papers and asks which direction we came from. We tell them we came from Quadroad! They ask where we came from before that. Jorah carefully says we came from the north. Ragni spreads out the four papers they’re holding so we can see them. Each one has an illustration of one of us and text explaining that we are to be apprehended dead or alive by the order of Dunan Slagmeld for our role in the destruction of Port Valor. Ashara tries to telepathically tell Ragni that Dunan is going to cause the apocalypse, while Reides examines the wanted posters. The illustrations are decent likenesses, definitely recognizable, and our attire matches what we were wearing when we first arrived in the Exeter proper. The posters don’t have our names on them, since we didn’t actually identify ourselves to the city guards. Kilwin, unaware that Ashara is talking to Ragni in their mind, takes out the emperor’s writ and tries to explain that we actually did what we could to save Port Valor. Ragni signals to one of their coworkers and asks them to take the counter for them for a while, and they escort us to a back room, lined with kegs of various alcohols.

Ragni asks us what the fuck is going on! They don’t think we seem like a bad sort and doubt that Dunan’s accusations are true, but they want an explanation. Ashara explains again that Dunan is up to evil and wants us out of the picture before we can stop him, but Jorah provides them with the full context. Ragni asks if this is why we were asking about the Bequeathing Ceremony and Magma Slag Rock. Reides admits it was and apologizes for lying to them. The arrest warrant is really a pretty major point against Dunan not being involved with the Burning Knight! Ragni speculates that, if everything we’re saying is true, Dunan probably contacted the Knight as soon as he learned outside adventurers entered the city. We realize that he would also know that Orrin let us into the city, so Ashara casts Sending to tell him that he could be in danger. He wants to know what on earth we did, but thanks her for the warning and will try to get safe. Jorah points out that we can’t keep staying at the Paragon’s Rest and should leave Ragni out of this. We check the posters again and realize there’s a bounty of 1000 gold each on us. We all urge Reides to use the Hat of Disguise to have a chance at blending in, so he takes on the appearance of a tall dwarf with flaming red hair and jewels in his beard. Ragni says that’s both flattering and useful! Reides admits they’re his fashion inspiration. Jorah apologizes for getting them involved in this, but Ragni says that, as a barkeep, they actually love being involved with things. This is a bit above their pay grade, but hey! Ashara attempts to give them 20 gold as thanks for not ratting us out, but they refuse, saying that we’ll need it more than they will, since we’ll probably have to bribe some people to stay safe.

Ragni suggests that those of us without a Hat of Disguise try to use mundane methods to disguise ourselves. Anything we could do to change up our appearances could help! Reides admits that he’s imagining Kilwin without a beard and freaking out about it. Kilwin admits that he really doesn’t want to shave off his beard, but it is on the table! Ashara is freaking out because the last time she was wanted, she lost her arm. She takes her prosthetic off, but quickly realizes that she can’t cast spells without it, so she reattaches it and wraps it in her robe (since she’s wearing her new dress). Jorah starts by undoing his bandana and putting his hair up in a bun. He also rubs some of his clothes on the floor to dirty them up. He thinks our best move would be to go to a part of town where no one really wants to go. Ragni suggests the Topaz District, which is the Exeter’s slums. Ashara doesn’t think that sounds that bad, and Ragni admits it’s not as bad as Falas’s slums. Still, Reides remakes his glamour without the beard jewels, just to be a less tempting target. Reides worries about what Pepega will do. Although Jorah thinks that she might be useful if she runs away and will likely have an easy time keeping away from danger, Reides is worried about how there’s no way she won’t stand out wherever she goes. He temporarily dismisses Pepega to a pocket dimension, although he can easily resummon her if he needs her help. Jorah admits he’s worried about Gin, but Ragni promises to take care of our carriage for us. Jorah also realizes that he is never going to get his hand crossbow back. Ragni offers to try to get that to him too, but Jorah doesn’t think it’s worth the risk to them. Jorah tries to stow away his remaining crossbows, giving one to Ashara to hide. Kilwin changes out of his vestments into his commoner clothes along with a set of studded leather armor that Jorah loans him. He’s not sure what else to do! Ragni recommends changing up our hairstyles. Jorah takes Quickbrand and starts cutting his hair off. It’s chin length instead of mid-back when he’s done. Ashara and Reides are pretty distressed by this! Kilwin assures Jorah that it looks nice, though, especially considering he did that himself with a sword! Jorah points out it will grow back. Ashara is horrified by the thought of cutting her hair. Kilwin says she doesn’t have to and undoes his own ponytail. He offers her the hair tie, so that they can trade hairstyles, but Ashara’s braids are still the ones that her mother did for her, and she never wants to undo them. We suggest using wine or charcoal to dye her hair without messing with the style. In the end, she accepts Ragni’s offer of using wine to dye her hair red. She also takes off her sunglasses, and fortunately she can see since we’re underground. Kilwin asks if he can use Reides’s charcoal to dye his hair black, and Reides helps him do it. Ashara wraps herself in a bedroll. Kilwin offers to take anything valuable in the bag of holding, and Jorah gives him Quickbrand. Kilwin is surprised, but Jorah thinks it could make him a target.

Jorah asks Ragni if there’s a back exit we could use, and Ragni leads us toward a ladder to the cellar doors. They suggest we get moving, but we know where to find them if there’s something else we need. We decide that it’s best if we split up, since people know we’re a group of four. Since Ashara has the weakest disguise and Jorah has stealth-enhancing magic, they’ll go in one group. Kilwin and Reides will take another, longer route to the Topaz District, since their disguises will hold up to a bit more scrutiny. This way, we’ve also split up our more muscular companions, as well as our spellcasters who have Sending prepared in case things go south for one of our groups. Reides says that Kilwin can pretend to be his husband! Kilwin agrees to this! We decide to make some fake names for ourselves, even though our names weren’t on the poster. Jorah decides to be Keras and Reides’s dwarfsona is named Ragnar Stormborn. Kilwin dithers a bit, but decides on Len because he knows he’ll react to hearing that name. Ashara takes the name Rhaella. We say our goodbyes and tell each other to stay safe before splitting up, hoping to find sanctuary in the Topaz District.

Session 51

 * Google Document (3-19-22)

Reides redoes Ashara’s hair in a bun, while Kilwin casts Death Ward on Jorah. The two groups then go their separate ways, planning to coordinate a meetup once they reach the Topaz District.

Kilwin and Reides, in the guise of Len and Ragnar, take a leisurely stroll along the scenic route to the Topaz District. They hold hands, since they’re pretending to be married. Both of them keep an eye out for anyone who seems to be paying too close attention to them, but most people don’t seem particularly interested or suspicious of them. However, they do notice a massively increased guard presence that wasn’t around earlier in the day. The guards seem to be questioning people that they pass. One group of guards starts walking in Kilwin and Reides’s general direction and, after a moment of deliberation, Reides pulls Kilwin into an alleyway. He seems to have a plan, but Kilwin is confused! The alley has some barrels, some wooden planks strewn around, and trash in some of the corners. Kilwin hears the guards getting closer and hears them asking people specifically if they’ve seen the party. As they come closer to the alleyway’s entrance, Reides asks Kilwin to get against the wall, which he does. He asks if Kilwin would be okay pretending to be caught in an intimate moment. Kilwin turns red, but agrees. Reides pushes Kilwin against the wall, and Kilwin puts his hand on Reides’s shoulder. The guards’ footsteps get closer, and most pass the alley by. Kilwin hears him mutter “Odan’s beard, desperate times, I guess” in Dwarvish. After he’s gone, Kilwin tells this to Reides and wonders if it was possibly referring to him, but Reides encourages him to just not dwell on it. They leave the alleyway to a number of raised eyebrows from bystanders. Reides’s head is held high, but Kilwin is avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Jorah and Ashara, disguised as Keras and Rhaella, briefly discuss their approach before trying to take a more direct route. They’re going to try to blend in as much as they can. Jorah has Ashara lean on him, with her metal arm toward him to try to hide it from view a bit more. She’ll also walk with a limp to seem injured. Jorah tells her that if something happens, he plans to cast Pass Without Trace and thinks they should try to get to the roofs. Ashara plans to drag everyone to hell, herself along with them, but promises to give Jorah a head start on running. Jorah’s a little skeptical of this plan, but we’ll see how it goes! The direct route leads them to a bridge across a lava flow. A group of guards have set up a checkpoint on the other side of the bridge, and there’s no other way across the lava flow nearby. Jorah thinks they should try to find another way around. Ashara wants to attack, but Jorah just pulls her away. Jorah thinks he might be able to bluff his way through the checkpoint, but worries about Ashara. Since the bridge across the lava was the direct path, Jorah and Ashara essentially have to make their way to the path Kilwin and Reides were taking and go that way. They follow the lava flow northeast, keeping on the side of the road away from the lava in case they need to run. Eventually, they encounter a group of three guards who happen to be coming from the other direction. They decide to try to just act natural and walk past, but Jorah says he’ll do the talking and that he wants Ashara to run and hide if he pushes her away from him. He’ll try to run and hide too, but he’ll go through them instead. Ashara agrees and asks if it’s okay if she pretends to be deaf. Jorah thinks he can go with that. As they approach the guards, one stops them and tells them they’re on the search for suspicious characters. Jorah assumes the role of a citizen of the Exeter and says he thought they locked up! The guard tells him that a noble let them into the city, but will be standing trial for that soon. Jorah swears about nobles and technically isn’t lying! Jorah asks how they can help the guards. Another guard interrupts to ask why Ashara doesn’t speak. Jorah explains that’s Rhaella, who’s deaf and won’t respond unless you get her attention first. The guard starts waving his hands in front of Ashara’s face, and she turns away from Jorah and waves awkwardly at the guard. The guard seems to accept this. The first guard says that there are checkpoints set up all over the city, so it won’t be difficult to find a place to report the outsiders. He tells Jorah and Ashara to be on their way and stay safe. As they start to go, the third guard stops them again and asks where they’re going. Jorah says they’re meeting some friends up north- he can’t quite remember the name of the place but say it’s just along this flow. The guard then asks how long they’ve lived in the Exeter. Jorah explains that he and Rhaella have lived in the Exeter for about four years at this point. They came through with a group of bounty hunters and decided to stick around. After a tense moment, the guard allows them to go on their way.

As Reides and Kilwin continue on their way, Reides spots an elderly dwarf pushing a cart filled with small, colorful things. He realizes it’s candy. He points it out to Kilwin and looks at him pleadingly. Kilwin deliberates for a moment before deciding that life is for living! He agrees to handle the talking. He greets the candy seller and has Reides pick out what he wants. Kilwin is about to pay for it when there’s a flash of recognition. The candy seller stutters and screams “Port Valor!” in fear. Kilwin and Reides are scared and unsure what to do, but ultimately decide to keep going and see if they can talk their way out of it if the candy seller successfully gets a guard who believes him. Reides considers changing his disguise, but Kilwin points out that he’s the one who’s suspicious and can’t really quickly change. He does think he should maybe ditch the beard next time if they ever have to do something like this again, though. Reides collects some of the candy that fell off the cart, and they continue on their way.

As Ashara and Jorah continue, there’s fewer and fewer alleyways for them to duck into. Ashara thinks Jorah will have some ideas, but he’s more used to being the hunter than the hunted. Soon, he hears the movement of a lot of plate armor approaching them. While Jorah and Ashara look for somewhere to get out of the way, they hear a voice telling them to come over quickly. A door to a nearby house has opened and a dwarven woman is beckoning to them. Without a better option, Jorah and Ashara duck inside. The woman closes the door and says that she’s not sure why the guards are like this now, but it’s best to not let them harass anyone clearly not from the city. The woman introduces herself as Denja. Jorah thanks her, and Ashara decides to drop her deaf act and thanks her too. They both admit it’s a little obvious they’re not from around there. Jorah tells Denja to stay safe and pretend she never saw either of them, and Ashara gives her a gold coin. Denja agrees and sends them on their way, telling them to go in shadow. Ashara and Jorah agree that that was a really weird turn of phrase, but neither of them recognize it and they don’t really have time to dwell on it.

Both groups successfully make it to the Topaz District and look for a safe place to hide out. Ashara finds a rundown inn called the Smoldering Ingot, with lots of dark corners to hide in. Reides finds an abandoned park, with overgrown grass and a large tree that curls upward. There’s also some lamps that are focused on the tree, which seem to be providing some false sunlight, but some of them have gone out. The Smoldering Ingot is emptier than one might expect, which makes Ashara wonder if the guards have already swept through. They sit down at a booth, drawing little attention from the other patrons. Jorah gets two ales from the bartender, a gruff dwarf with a scraggly beard, who’s polishing glasses with a dirty cloth. He also learns that there’s rooms for a silver per night. Kilwin uses Sending to contact Ashara, and they decide to meet at the Smoldering Ingot. That way, Reides can recast Disguise Self in a room and not worry about the spell while sleeping. Reides refreshes his disguise, and Kilwin puts his component pouch and journal into the bag of holding and gives it to Reides for safekeeping. Just in case! Reides takes it but doesn’t think it’s necessary. Kilwin admits it will just put his mind at ease. Reides also offers Kilwin some floor candy, which he accepts.

The buildings in the Topaz District are weathered, and there’s large cracks in the pavement and walls. It takes Reides and Kilwin a while to find the inn, especially since it’s not on the path they expected Jorah and Ashara to take, but they find it after about an hour of searching. Ashara uses her telepathy to tell Kilwin that he and Reides can sit with them or pick a different table if they’d like. We decide to all sit together. Reides offers Ashara and Jorah some floor candy; Ashara takes a handful, but Jorah passes on it. Kilwin tells Ashara and Jorah he was recognized once but no one seemed to follow them after that. We start planning our next moves. Kilwin looks around and sees that no one seems to be specifically listening to them, but since there’s not a lot of other conversations occurring and fire is low, we keep our voices quiet. Kilwin sees our two main goals as clearing our names and interfering with Dunan getting the Plate of the Ancestors, especially since we won’t be able to leave until the blockade is lifted and/or we’re known to be innocent. Doing either one would more or less resolve the other, probably, but Kilwin’s not sure where to start with either of them. Jorah and Ashara recount their encounter with Denja, and Reides and Kilwin agree that the phrase “walk in shadow” probably means something significant, possibly an affiliation with a thieves guild? No one recognizes it, though. Kilwin asks if there’s rooms, and then asks Reides if they want to keep up the act. They have a brief understanding where Reides thinks Kilwin is asking if they want to keep pretending to be a married couple. They decide to share a room for the night.

Jorah has dealt with the bounty hunters guild in the Exeter, but he doesn’t have strong ties to them and doesn’t know anything about local thieves guilds. He thinks we have three options: Infiltrate Magma Slag Rock and try to get evidence against Dunan there, wait a week and infiltrate the Bequeathing Ceremony, or wait until after the Bequeathing Ceremony and try to confront Dunan once he gets the Plate. Dunan possibly also has an estate, but we don’t know where it is and going there is probably as risky as the prison. Jorah also thinks that if he had something big to hide, he’d do it in the maximum security prison where he works, not his house. Kilwin doesn’t want to go to prison, but definitely doesn’t want to wait a week without doing anything! Ashara suggests ditching the whole place and letting what happens to the Exeter happens. She doesn’t care about this city that wants her dead! Kilwin isn’t willing to just leave, though, even if we physically could. He argues that Ashara didn’t see the Burning Knight and Kilwin’s not willing to let him get any closer to his goals if there’s anything he could possibly do about it. In that case, Ashara would like to murder Dunan. Kilwin isn’t sure that’s the best idea either, at least not without a lot of research, since he could come back like Tyrian and we could have two revenants to worry about. Ashara thinks destroying him utterly could avert that, but Kilwin is pretty sure that’s beyond our capabilities right now. Reides thinks they are maybe both getting a little bit ahead of themselves here. He thinks he could probably chat some people up, like the barkeep, and learn a bit more about the general opinion of Dunan Slagmeld here (probably bad) and who might be able to help us. Jorah thinks Reides will mess this up. Kilwin objects to this assessment of Reides’s small talk skills, as does Reides! Ashara considers using Sending to tell Ragni safe and where we are, but the rest of the party thinks we shouldn’t give them too much info that they’ll need to lie about, she decides not to contact them. Reides and Kilwin obtain their room key. The barkeep, still polishing glasses with the same dirty rag, barely looks at them, so Reides leaves him alone. Jorah gets a room key for himself and Ashara as well. As Kilwin suggests that Jorah take point on trying to track down the thieves guild and see if they’ll help us, Ashara takes some time to update Kain on the current situation. Kilwin offers to go with Jorah as backup if he’s willing! Jorah isn’t enthused about this idea, since he hasn’t been on that side of the law for a long time and isn’t sure if leaving the Topaz District at all is a good idea. Kilwin is surprised to hear that Jorah actually was once involved in this kind of thing, but Jorah doesn’t want to talk about it and calls it the legacy of a misspent youth. That doesn’t make Kilwin any less curious, but he lets it go for now.

Unsure of our next steps, we contemplate trying to sleep on it. Four people then enter the Smoldering Ingot- a dwarf with splintmail, two swords, and a crossbow; a heavily armored dwarf with a crossbow and greatsword; a robed dwarf; and an elf with a bow slung across her shoulders, who crosses her arms and leans against the bar. Kilwin starts eavesdropping and overhears the elf suggesting that they head back to the inn we were staying at to look for clues. She mentions that the robed dwarf, Kieran, has a spell that could track us if they find something of ours. They get their drinks as we think over our next moves and eventually start debating which group of us is going to try sneaking upstairs first. Eventually, Jorah and Ashara make the attempt. No one moves to stop them, but Kilwin notices the elven woman’s eyes follow them up and just barely makes out her telling her companions that they found their marks. Jorah and Ashara make it to their room and lock the door. Jorah starts stringing his crossbow as Ashara uses her telepathy to ask Kilwin what’s happening downstairs. He tells her the bad news. There’s a window in the inn room, so Jorah attempts to open it, but it’s locked. Ashara casts Darkness to impede the other group of adventurers. He asks Ashara to ask Kilwin to get Quickbrand out. Ashara tries to break the glass with her hands, but doesn’t have much success until she gets her mace out. Jorah puts on his darkvision goggles and jumps down, catching Ashara at the bottom. As the other adventurers head upstairs, Kilwin and Reides leave the tavern. Kilwin asks for the bag of holding and gets Quickbrand out, but then gives the bag back to Reides. Reides thinks this is getting a little silly! Jorah casts Pass Without Trace as he gets Quickbrand back and we all head for the park. The elf curses from above and looks out the broken window, but doesn’t spot us.

We make it to the park without incident, but as we pass through the archway, we spot a cloaked dwarven figure standing under the tree. After some deliberation, Reides approaches him. He says it’s a nice tree! The dwarven man agrees. He has a black beard tied in a thick braid and the rest of his hair is slicked back. He’s wearing leather armor emblazoned with the symbol of an eye surrounded by a cave. He says he knows we’re in a tight situation, and Reides asks if he’s planning to make it tighter. He knows we’re not behind the destruction of Port Valor (and is aware of the rest of the situation), though, and is willing to help clear our names if we do something for him. As he talks, he mostly looks at the rest of the party, and seems a little confused by Reides’s Ragnar disguise. The dwarf wants us to turn ourselves in and be taken to Magma Slag Rock. Kilwin is unable to discern if he’s trying to stop us or not. The dwarf continues, telling us that there’s a job for us inside. If we complete it, he can guarantee that we’ll be released, we’ll be publicly pardoned, and we’ll have access to Dunan’s office when he returns from the Bequeathing with the Plate of the Ancestors. Ashara asks permission to cast Detect Thoughts on him to see if he’s lying. He says he keeps many secrets, so he gives her permission to look at his surface thoughts. Kilwin asks if our things will be taken from us in the prison. The dwarf says they will, but assures us that they’ll be given back to us. He has no proof that he’s not working with Dunan other than the thoughts Ashara is reading, and Ashara can see from his thoughts that he thinks Dunan is a slimy coward. When asked about the phrase “walk in shadow,” he says he walks in shadow every day, and apparently so do we. Kilwin objects that he doesn’t do this kind of thing very often! The dwarf also says that he’s not part of a thievery organization, Ashara catches the phrase “Deep Watchers” from his thoughts. Kilwin asks him if he knows why the Plate is important, and he says he does. Ashara detects that he knows about the demon. Apparently, he tracked us using Jorah’s hair from the Paragon’s Rest’s cellar. If we take him up on his offer, we’ll have to be in the prison for a week, but he can arrange it so we’re housed near each other. He thinks we’ll find it Interesting inside. We really don’t have any better options, so we agree to take him up on it. Ashara suggests that Kilwin take the time to contact Glasny, since she used subtle casting to update Kain again, and he might not get another chance. Kilwin decides not to worry him so soon after telling him everything was okay. Reides contemplates telling Viglis about this to give him a heart attack, but doesn’t have the spell prepared. Reides asks if they’ll cut his hair, but the dwarf assures him that they only care about causing suffering in Magma Slag Rock, not what his hair looks like. Reides isn’t super reassured, but admits that he’ll be suffering anyway if he has to keep pretending to be Ragnar Stormborn. He assures Kilwin that he enjoyed their fake marriage, though. Kilwin admits he had fun with it too! The dwarf also tells us what he knows about Alzrius. He knows it’s the demon lord of flames and served by an army of armor knights and babaus. Ashara does not enjoy the image this conjures in his thoughts. When finally asked what we should call him, the dwarf says his name is Soruza Blackmines. Soruza will leave it up to us if we kill Dunan or what we do with the Plate of the Ancestors, assuming we can get it. He does say that if Dunan survives, he could face trial for his crimes. Reides asks about the tournaments we’ve heard about, but Soruza just says we’ll find out in due time. Apparently, that’s the job! Without any more questions from us, Soruza says he has other business to attend to. Reides offers him some floor candy, which he gladly accepts, having already stolen a single piece out of Reides’s bag.