On the way back to Balic they encounter Vosdra on the Cloud Ray. She travels with a companion and wants to know what they know about Dregoth emissary. She will die trying to get them to speak and they will see her tattoo - the dark mark transfer from her dead body to her companion who then has her personality and flies off.
They approach Balic on a road through a vineyard they meet a ten man militia patrol that wish to talk to them about who they are what they want and what they have seen on the road. If engaged they will say the dicator Andropinis recently drafted three times more ordinary citizens into the city militia and has increased patrols around and in the city as much.
In Balic elections for Praetors the templars of Balic are being held soon and the campaigns have got heated. You see a Praetor Wak Vok campaigning - beating up a young patricianHenon Rayroe in the street. Telling him that any man of this precinct who votes against him will know his wrath.
They will be taken to Villa Nauripides to meet alliance senior man Zaethus Nauripides and discuss what their next steps should be. They will be taken into a room with men lying on tables being massaged by slaves this is how the meeting will be held. These are the people at The Alliance Meeting.
The halflings near Nibenay and Gulg have been seen leaving the Crescent Forest and heading out into the desert - different clans all heading out.
They will hear that King Kalak of Tyr has been assassinated. A magical halfling spear thrown by a Mulgladiator (The truth is Tithian enabled Rikus, a mul gladiator, to kill Kalak with the Heartwood Spear, a halfling artifact).
They will also hear that Blue Halflings are said to have taken over Fort Inix (which is true - these are the ancient halflings from Cleft Rock Well who have now been resurrected by the halflings of the Crescent Forest)
They will hear that now that Cromlin isn't operating people are starving in Raam and riots have broken out. Balic has also been affected economically. The Alliances spies tell them that Dregoth's creatures boarded a silt skimmer and headed north on the Sea of Silt.
They ask the party to update the members gathered about their adventure following Dregoth's emissary.
They discuss possible outcomes now Dregoth emissary has met with Archmare one of the members of the Dead Snakes.
Who should they align with - Dregoth and Rajaat or the Sorcerer Kings & Queens. Or should they do nothing and simply seek to protect preserver magic users?
The alliance will want to know more about Dead Snakes.
Another top priority will be restoring trade so Balic doesnt starve and that means rescuing and re-taking Cromlin, whose Dregoth's forces have massacred. They will need to fill in the tunnels so his Dray cannot return to attack the port town and trade can be restored. In order to do this they will have to enlist the help of a powerful sand cleric Saberjandrawho lives in the wilderness.
A large party could alert Dregoth to their intentions - so they will have to go in small.
Will let the players have a passive perception check.
Cladas Ko will get up and give a signal, the slaves will pull bone daggers from their tunics and stab through the backs of the mens necks, trying to assassinate the gathered members of The Veiled Alliance. This has been orchestrated by the Dead Snakes.
