Prologs
In a small town in the outskirts of Verden, Miwa awoke from a deep slumber to find himself in a strange place, far from where he had lain down to rest. He was bound to chair, a state which a nimble gesture ensured didn't last long and as he heard steps beginning to descend into the cellar where he had been brought he made the choice to remain and see just who it was who had gone through so much trouble to speak with him. He was met by possibly the last person he would have expected, the Prince of the Spring Court and ruler in all but name of the Realm of Fey, Talon Coldwind. Sparing no time on introductions or formalities, he instead entrusted Miwa with a task. Six years ago, his brother had betrayed the Court of Spring for that of Autumn before vanishing into parts unknown, and Prince Talon had grown tired of his brother's treachery going unpunished. He informed Miwa that he was to find his brother and return him, alive, and that while there was no strict time limit for this task, he would be watching...
A few short weeks after Okhtus' arrival in The Hub, he sat in the home of the Lady of the Hub, Kalista Debrujar, taking tea with her and her husband Coal Wolfsblood. The time since his arrival here had been a confusing one, though not uncomfortable. The gate through which he had arrived had closed suddenly and showed no signs of reappearing, and no one in this strange new land seemed to have any knowledge of the lands of Anodyne which he called home. As he was, for all purposes, a foreign ambassador, the Lady of the city had done what she could to make him comfortable and promised to investigate, and it was for this reason that they met that day. Over tea, Kalista regretfully informed him that not only had she been unable to locate any trace of the gate which had sent him here, but that she could find none who would claim to have sent the signal that had brought him here in the first place. And thus, Okhtus was left with two mysteries; How was he ever to return home, and just who had been responsible for bringing him here in the first place?
Having traveled from Terra in search of magical power, Sarantyr spent most of her nights tucked away in a cozy inn called Snowdrops, nose deep in magical tomes in pursuit of her tireless studies. It was on one of these night that she chanced to encounter a mysterious stranger, who practically reeked of magic and seemed to take an unusual interest in her. He spoke with her only briefly before departing, and that night she had a strange and oddly real-feeling dream. She dreamt of a deep, misty wood in which a souce of great power seemed to call her. Following, she found at it's center another strange figure, attended to by a court of ravens and bearing hair and clothing as darkly hued as the birds which surrounded him. The man called to her, beckoning her to join him and take her place as "one of us". She woke after, all temptation to write the events off as naught but a strange dream banished by the token of a Raven's feather which now lay at her bedside.
Our story began in the tailor's shop of Okhtus Aurelius, where a chance encounter with a unknown young man would lead to your entanglement in the political intrigue which currently plagues The Hub. As you all were shopping, passing by, or otherwise going about the normal course of your day, and injured stranger stumbled through the door's of Okhtus's store, managing only to squeak out a single cry for help before collapsing on the floor in a bloody heap. But before any of you could attend to his wounds or even ask questions, the young man's pursuers entered the store as well, demanding that you hand over the boy. You refused to turn him over and in the face of this that presumed assassins turned to violence, starting a fight which the three of your handily won. While the two assailants managed to escape, both were severely injured.
Wasting no time, you rushed to save the unconscious young man's life, discovering in the process that he bore the brand of an elementalist, a mark which Miwa recognized from his time spent in Verden. Miwa's healing abilities proved capable enough to stay the course of the unknow poison that was coursing through the stranger's body and you decided to return to Miwa's clinic in order to wait for him to fully recover. Some time later, the stranger finally awoke. He informed you that his name was Liam and that he had been sent to The Hub on a secret mission, entrusted to him by the Prince of Verden Nathaniel Thorne. He then produced a letter which he had been instructed to deliver to the Lord and Lady of the city, whom he had been unable to reach before his pursuers caught up with him. The letter contained details of a plot by the monarchists of Verden to assassinate the leader of the rebellion, Kithri Malrose, who was due to visit the Hub in only a day's time in order to attend peace talks between the factions which were being hosted by the Lady of the city.
Trading upon Okhtus' friendship with the pair, you decided to contact them at their home, intending to petition the Lady of the city for aid only to discover that she was out of town and that only the somewhat withdrawn Lord of the City, Coal Wolfsblood, was the only one available. He returned with you to Miwa's clinic, listening to Liam's tale and the contents of the letter he bore with utmost seriousness, before he thanked the three of you for what you had done so far and entreated you for further aid. He explained that The Hub was in a difficult position in regards to this situation and that, while he would of course do anything he could to prevent this death from coming to pass, that it would be difficult for both the City and the peace talks that were to take place should he or any known agent of The Hub be seen acting in a way that could be construed as taking sides in the Verdanen conflict. The trust that both side placed in The Hub was thin, and any sign of violence in the city or interference in their affairs would be damaging to that. With this in mind, he asked that you continue to aid him in investigating and stopping this plot, promising to pay you all well should you accept. After some debate you all agreed to help, though you refused the offer or financial compensation accepting instead a promise of a favor on your behalf in the future. (Note: I know this is what Miwa and Sarantyr asked for, but I can't remember if Okhtus chose the same)
Eager not to lose the trail, you entrusted Liam to Coal's safe-keeping and returned to Okhtus' shop in search of clues as to where the assassins may have run to. Your investigations lead you to the edge of the market district, where you traced them to a closed butcher's shop. Inside, the assassin's had transformed the shop into a makeshift hideout, which you three managed to infiltrate, and defeated the monarchist agents hiding there. The ones who survived were secured with Okhtus' help, after which you investigated the hideout. You found little htere in the way of possession, the agents seemed to be travelling light, but you did find a few things of note, which included a list of assassination targets in order of priority and small case filled with several small vials of black liquid, one of which was missing. Miwa was able to identify the vials as being some kind of Iron based poison, the likes of which he'd never seen before nor thought to be possible.
The information to be found in their hideout having been exhausted, you decided the next step would be to question the assassin's who had survived your encounter but you were faced with the issue of how to transport them back to a location where it would be safe to do so. Being that you were in an only recently closed butcher's shop, obviously the thing to do was stuff their unconscious bodies in the carcasses of several pigs and use those along with a technically stolen wagon to disguise your transporting them across the city. Obviously. (<3) Upon arriving back at Miwa's clinic, Sarantyr and Okhtus agreed to let Miwa handle the questioning. He then vanished into one of the clinic's back rooms, emerging after a short time and some... questionable noises, with information detailing the assassin's intended plan of ambush against the rebellion ambassador as well as the information that they were not the only cell of monarchist agents in The Hub. After some debate amongst yourselves, you agreed on your plan of action to stop the assassin's ambush the next day: Kidnap the rebellion ambassador before the assassin's could do it themselves.
The next day, you laid your own ambush, striking the ambassador shortly after her entrance into the city where you knew you would be the least likely to encounter any onlookers. The plan was ultimately successful, though complicated somewhat by the presence of her unexpectedly powerful bodyguard, an elementalist by the name of Viridian Altmeri. Having successfully grabbed your target, you retreated to your planned hiding spot in the secret underground of the city, a key to one of the many entrances having been provided to you by Lord Wolfsblood earlier. Once there, you revealed to Kithri what your true intentions had been as well as of the plot against her life which from which you were attempting to save her. It took no small amount of convincing of both her and her bodyguard, who managed to catch up with you with the help of a beacon Kithri had secretly activated, but eventually she believed you and was more than willing to accept your continued help.
Much debate was had over how best to move forward, with the main question being if Kithri should still attend the peace talks or not. Eventually the conclusion was reached that, however small the chance was that some good could come from the talks, the opportunity they provided was too rare to pass up and that Kithri would attend after all; Now with four bodyguards instead of one. With only a few short hours before the party where the talks were set to be held would take place, you all hurried to make what preparations you must both to attend a fancy party and possibly prevent several murders while doing so.