Continued from Session 25: A Song for the Listener.
The group discussed whether it was a good idea to bring their prisoner Cephius er'Ceasian to the Imperial Palace, but ultimately decided against it. They were concerned that because it was what Hezra was attempting, their could be an unforeseen consequence. They made a plan to split the party in the morning. One group would look for Artellus to see why he was looking for Kith. The other half would look for information and research on the Singers and Listeners. They then left their separate ways to finally retire for the night.
Meriel had a strange and disturbing dream. The stars in the night sky were wiped out by a strange oily multihued smoke. Then she heard a chorus of voices calling for the "Scion of the Deceiver" and saying that a new Listener was needed. As she began to feel overwhelmed by the cacophony, she began to hear Kith's song. The voices faded away, and the dream with it.
The next morning, she talked with Zarin about her dream. He wondered if Kith's music had stopped the Singers in her dream, like Kith did for Cephius earler.The two of them went to see Meriel's friend Layla in the Vigilant archives. Layla said that the records she had access to were mostly of a legal nature, but she would see what she could find. She recommended that Meriel see a researcher at Pallida University named Aulus Viziri. Before they left, Zarin successfully asked Layla out for lunch the next day.
At Pallida University, Meriel and Zarin gave a synopsis of what they knew about the Singers and Listeners to Aulus. Meriel recalled the elvish term ustasi duyarti that had been used to refer to the Singers and also brought up the Battle of Byroad. Aulus asked them to wait around at the University while he acquired some materials and research.
Meanwhile, Tor'in, Ren, and Amos headed towards Darin's Folly that same morning. Going back over their trail from the night before, this time Amos asked bystanders about Artellus. Tor'in noticed an elven beggar they did not get a chance to talk to previously. The beggar had followed Artellus for a time, and saw he had gone to the Three Chords tavern but left without Kith. He had heard Artellus mutter about returning to the Warrens afterwards.
On the way to the Warrens, Amos visited Kennick at the Giving Hands. Kennick was happy to hear that Kith was safe. He said that the Keepers were making arrangements for Mordenkai and Allan. Kennick also mentioned that Artellus was asking about Sana Eillar, which immediately had Tor'in concerned. When pressed for details, Kennick said Artellus was concerned that Sana was being unjustly persecuted because she was a Solari, but Kennick assuaged him and let him know it was from that. He told him that Sana was doing civil work for the Vigilants, and that she would be released at the first of Mais (next month). She was visiting her father Amaiur during the holiday week. Amos reminded Tor'in that there is a Vigilant watching over her when she is not in custody. Amos mused that Artellus seems like a planner. Amos asked Kennick if he knew anything about the Singers from Mordenkai, but there wasn't anything they had not heard before.
From the Oldkeep neighborhood, the trio made their way to the Warrens for Artellus. Tor'in decided to discretely and stealthily follow Ren and Amos to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble from the White Daggers. Unfortunately, he was spotted by a young and hot-headed Bladeservant that was looking for a duel. Tor'in recalled dueling him before, where the young challenger earned the nickname "Noodles" because of his poor form. They agreed to duel at midnight. Tor'in continued only to have a very intoxicated citizen vomit all over him. Tor'in resigned himself to simply walk with Amos and Ren.
They went to Braelyn's house. Ren told her that they had caught the man who had killed Thea. But he added that there was more to the case, and someone else was pulling the strings. They were not about to dispatch the immediate sort of justice that Braelyn was looking for because they wanted to find the root of the problem. Braelyn seemed hurt and disappointed, but said that she would accept their idea of justice. When asked about Artellus, she said that they could find him in the Warrens at the Dire Star tavern or the White Daggers headquarters. They opted to head to the Dire Star first.
Continued in Session 27: Words Unseen.