1. Journals

Session 09: Unwanted Visitors

Session

Continued from Session 08: Coincidental Meetings.

While Oak and Alcor went to find the Hammerfall's stash of Bane, Ren led Meriel, Tor'in, and Amos to the Soft Blooms within the Warrens. One of Ren's coworkers from the Imperial Watch, Joust, was manning the entry to the Warrens. Ren had explained to the others that the Warrens is still filled with refugees from Akkad's attacks five years ago, and that in an effort to keep out a majority of the unwanted riff-raff, the Imperial government requires permits (usually work permits) for people to leave the Warrens for elsewhere in the city. Joust allowed Ren and his companions to enter, but warned them to be careful and not cause trouble, because that could lead to questions.

Braelyn met the group outside the Soft Blooms, and secretly warned Ren that Amos is a Vigilant. After briefly talking to Dimora, they all went upstairs to the scene of Thea's murder. Tor'in examined the tea, and could make out the faint smell of Thawmallow in the tea pot. He started searching the chest in the room, when Ren pointed out that the chest was locked previously. Examining the lock, Ren determined that it was not picked. Carefully opening the chest, Tor'in found a ceramic jar of tea leaves.

Amos collected the jar, the teapot, and Thea's cup. Not wanting to divulge any details to Ren yet, Tor'in suggested that they bring the items and their questions about the poison to their mutual friend that owes them some favors (Amaiur Eillar).

Braelyn, who had been waiting outside in the hallway, loudly welcomed someone as they came up the stairs: Artellus Prusun, one of Shan's agents. He had been told that the brothel had closed because there was a stomach bug going around, but he had some suspicions. (Although he also cast dispersions on the cook Bearwalker, too.) Braelyn distracted Artellus away from Thea's room while the party quietly hatched a plan.

Using the strong whiskey left in the cup in Thea's room, Tor'in poured it over the front of his shirt. Then he went into the hall and pretended to be loud and drunk. Braelyn picked up on the charade, and she co-opted Artellus into helping her, leading them further away from the rest of the group. Tor'in managed to force himself to throw up on Artellus, distracting him even further. Meriel made a hasty and quiet retreat down the stairs. Amos followed, nearly dropping the tea pot twice. Ren then approached Tor'in while pretending to be a bouncer and grabbed Tor'in to take him downstairs and toss him outside. Braelyn took Artellus to the upstairs washroom to keep him occupied.

Downstairs, Dimora apologized to Ren for Artellus's interference. Bearwalker said that the women usually make their own tea; he just heats up the water for them in the kitchen. Dimora was worried because although their ruse about the stomach bug has worked so far, she knew that it was only a matter of time before the Keepers would be needed and Shan would know what had happened. Amos had some comforting words to share. The group decided to leave before Artellus came downstairs, and after catching up with Tor'in, made their way to Rattlestone to visit Amaiur's Apothecary.

At the apothecary, Amaiur examined the jar of tea leaves, the tea pot, and Thea's cup. He confirmed that there was Thawmallow in the pot, which mixed with the Redroot in the cup. Thawmallow is fairly common, but Redroot is harder to come by. It originates far to the south, and although transporting it isn't an issue, it takes a lot of skill to prepare it for use. Amaiur offered to ask around his fellow apothecarists and see if any of them had sold any redroot recently; it wasn't that common and he didn't have any in stock himself.

The party stopped briefly at Tor'in's teahouse to discuss their plans for tomorrow. Ren and Meriel were planning to go back to the Warrens and find out how Thea's personal chest was opened. Amos brought up that if Emlyn has a work permit to leave the Warrens, then there should be a record of it somewhere, and suggested he could try to find it in the morning. Having family obligations on this first night of the Week of Remembrance, Ren and Amos left for their respective homes.

Ren made his way home alone, contemplative of the day's events. On his way through Wyvern Towers, he passed a large crowd listening to a speech given by the High Keeper, but didn't pay it any mind. Across from his home, someone had recently painted a mural commemorating the Week of Remembrance. It looked like it was painted hastily, but clearly showed the holy symbol of Lotrad, some candles, and faces of loved ones... one of which was clearly Thea. As Ren looked closer, he could make out words hidden in the alternating colors painted in her hair:

"Shan knows. There was another murder. Two days ago. B."

Continues in Session 10: Personal Things.

Player Notes

Credits

Art by WillOBrien.