Quill takes a stroll around the city in the evening to talk to people about what they think about Irissa and the current situation with the city guard, with most of those she speaks to feeling contentment or satisfaction with Irissa’s job. She decides to write down what she learns, and then heads back to the tavern to wait for the rest of the group.
Later in the evening, after Miryks has escaped from the apartment, she tries to hide from the roaming city guards who are looking for anyone suspicious. She decides to wait to examine the journal closely until she’s safely back in the tavern, putting it in her inner pocket. She hides in the shadows, running through back alleys, making her way towards the north gates. Just as a guard patrol passes by, she is about to make the final run to the gate, but is stopped by a street thug who steps out in front of her. Two more thugs are flanking her from behind, so she holds up her staff, demanding to be let through. One of the thugs just grabs it from her hands, prompting Miryks to beastform into a lion. The two thugs behind her run off, screaming, while the one in front of her tries to remain calm, stepping to the side. Miryks grabs her staff from the ground, running towards the north gate, reverting back to her gnome form, and escapes the city.
Back in the tavern, Quill is in the middle of her storytelling for the gathered patrons, while Raenerys and Gaia are sitting in a booth listening and waiting. Miryks sits down to join them, telling them in a low voice that she found something in the apartment, revealing the corner of the journal from her inner pocket. Raenerys looks around, and suggests that they take this in their room so as to not be overheard. Quill announces she wants to take a break, joining them.
Safely in their room, after Raenerys has made sure that nobody is listening in, they take a look at the journal. They only find gibberish, and believe it must be written in some sort of code. Raenerys and Miryks sit down to try and decipher it, spending most of the evening to work through the coded language, eventually learning a few relevant sentences.
“The source insists the next hand-off will be made by Draakos himself. Once a month, coin passes into the official’s hands. Last was the 10th, so we are days away.”
“I remain convinced it is Thalen, though I lack absolute proof. This exchange should be enough.”
“I will move to intercept. Cannot risk waiting longer... Every month he strengthens his hold.”
“Small force only. Too many ears if I call wider support. Better to strike quickly, quietly. We take Draakos at the hand-off.”
There are a few references to an inside man in the notes as well, indicating that someone has turned and is feeding Irissa information, and that she has learned of a hand off taking place in the next few days, meaning she’s about to make a move on Draakos to finish him off. The party realizes that she probably has little chance of succeeding, and wonders if they might be able to recruit her. Raenerys decides to pen a letter to Irissa directly, telling her to meet them at midnight in a tower under construction in the city. She leaves it unsigned, but tries to make it seem as friendly as possible, implying that they have goals aligned with hers.
𐡸
The next morning the party gets up bright and early, hoping to deliver the note to Irissa as she’s walking to work. They position themselves around the center circle of the city, keeping watch. Quill takes on the illusory form of a courier, and as soon as they spot the councillor, she runs up to her, hands over the letter, and runs away. Irissa takes a moment to read the note, then looks around, concerned, before continuing onwards to the Golden Tower.
Miryks, who has been sitting on a nearby bench reading a broadsheet about various stuff happening around the dominion, notices a little girl across the road looking at her. The girl suddenly gives her a disturbing smile, before a woman, presumably the girl's mother, takes her hand and walks away. Miryks is creeped out by the encounter, but thinks little more of it, and doesn’t tell the others about it.
A little later in the day, the party heads over towards the tower under construction, trying to check out the situation and if they need to plan something. It’s soon clear that the site has fallen under observation, as they spot several disguised guards roaming the area, looking for whoever sent Irissa the note. They try to find another way in without being noticed, figuring the sewers might be a way. Miryks takes on the shape of a rat, and is let down below, but finds it to also be patrolled by the city guards. When she returns to the streets, she takes on the form of a bat, as the sun is about to set, to take a look inside the tower.
There are three guards with crossbows waiting inside on the second level, so it is clear that they cannot enter the tower without being spotted or taken. Distraught, they decide that they should just go for it anyway, through the sewers, hoping that Irissa can be reasoned with. They head back to the golden tower to wait for her to go, planning to follow her and meet her at the construction site.
After several hours of waiting they spot a figure emerging from the tower surrounded by several guards. The figure wears a hood to hide their features, so they figure that Irissa is trying to keep everything covert, and they decide to follow. Just as they do however, Quill spots another figure emerge from the tower that begins to move towards Irissa’s apartment. The party realizes that they are following a double, so they instead decide to go after the real Irissa instead.
Irissa stops in front of her building to talk to the two guards stationed outside, when Raenerys decides to just be bold, walking right up to her and asking her to let them inside so they can talk. The rest of the party tries to act confident, and Irissa, looking disturbed, decides to nod, telling the guards who has their swords half-drawn to stand down, and then walks inside, letting the party follow. Miryks sits in bat form on Gaia’s shoulder, and returns to human form when they are safely inside Irissa’s apartment.
Irissa, noticing this, pours herself a glass of wine and asks for her book back. Miryks feigns ignorance, but Raenerys hands it over to her. Irissa asks if they read the contents, and is impressed when they admit to deciphering it. They tell Irissa that Draakos is not one to be crossed, and that they have been given a task of getting rid of her or face his wrath. Irissa is concerned with how bold he is growing, and asks what the party has planned. The party suggests to fake her disappearance, hoping to buy them some time, but if they do, Irissa will be replaced on the council by the other members, and won’t get another chance to get back until the next election, which is three years away.
After a big of back and forth, Irissa asks for their help in taking down Draakos when she moves to arrest him, offering to match his promise, plus a little extra. They agree, seeing no other options. Irissa hands them a page from her journal as proof of their “loyalty” to Draakos, and a bag of gold each for any last minute preparations. She then shows them a hidden way out, leading to a back alley, allowing them to leave without any prying eyes spotting their departure.
Safely back in the tavern, they eat a quick bite offered by Andrex, spotting a lone figure sitting in the corner, covered by a hood, looking very mysterious. Quill, who has been quiet all day, can’t help herself, walking over to the figure, asking what their story is. The figure, an orc woman who calls herself Kael, says that her story would bore her, but Quill keeps prodding, eventually getting Kael to admit that she is here waiting for word from her friend. Quill wonders who her friends is, as Kael implies that they don’t know what they are, but assures her she is no warlock. Her friend approaches her from time to time, telling her where to go, and the last thing she was told was to head to Goldenworth to wait for further instructions.
Quill learns that Kael is originally from Unknown, a place far south from here, and that her friend is not some disembodied voice that is in Kael’s mind, but has a physical form. Kael is annoyed at how likeable Quill is, as she usually doesn’t share things about herself, so asks to be left in peace, but is sure that their paths will cross again at some point. Quill goes over to Andrex, buying Kael a drink of her choice, before her and the rest of the party goes to bed. They learn the next morning that someone came to speak to Kael in the night, and she departed shortly after.
𐡸
Over the next few days, the party decides to visit Puddlewick again, as Miryks and Raenerys haven't had the chance to meet him. Quill and Gaia lead them through the forest and up to the door, and are quickly let inside by the wizard, who introduces himself to the pair. He introduces them to Jonathan, and then asks what he can be of assistance with, since he hasn’t had a chance to examine the sample from Gaia’s shoulder yet.
The party asks him first what he knows about Hearthstone, and he gives a lengthy explanation that they’re used to teleport, a rare gift these days, but it’s expensive, and you can only teleport to a place the hearthstone has been before and attuned to. They’re quite rare, and not something one can just pick up from the orcs of the Thax'ning Tribes, where the hearthstones come from. Quill produces an illusion of the package they delivered, asking Puddlewick what the golden lattice around the stone does. The wizard studies it for a moment, but is unable to come to a satisfying conclusion, saying that such things usually are there to focus, enhance or prolong the magic, but without the stone itself, he has no way to be sure. Elara or Relic might know, but he has no way to contact them quickly.
Raenerys then shows him her ring, saying that she is unable to remove it. He examines it, then says it is usually due to curses, magical wards or god forbid, a bond with a patron of some sort. He offers to try to cast a spell to remove the curse for a fee, but Raenerys tells him she’ll have to think about it, as her funds are low. He understands, but says to drop by if she changes her mind. They are led outside as Puddlewick tells Jonathan to not prepare the tea after all.
The next day, the day before the arrest is meant to go down, they decide to talk to Draakos, hoping to convince him to have them join him during the handover. They are led inside by the same mook that has found them each time before, who asks if they bring good news. The party tells him they will tell that to the boss, not him. He scoffs, then lets them inside.
As Raenerys’ illusion has gone out, and she only has one charge left in her stone, she puts on a hood to hide her features for the day. Stepping into Draakos’ office, they see he is tending to his knuckles, clearly indicating that he has been in a fight, or at the very least has beaten somebody to a pulp. He looks over as the party approaches him, hoping for good news.
The party explains that they broke into Irissa’s personal quarters the other day, and they got some information which might be of use to him. He laughs, demanding to know who broke into it. Miryks meekly raises a hand, causing him to quickly toss her a bag of gold, thanking her for the entertainment of seeing the city guard panic. Gaia hands him the page from the book, which the party has translated for him. He looks over it, then realizes that his operation is exposed. The party offers to join him in taking her down, letting him have the satisfaction of the “final blow”. He ponders over it, then agrees, giving them a key that leads to the warehouse where the handoff will happen, telling them to hide in the attic a few hours before dusk.
Raenerys, seeing as it is her final chance of learning what the hearthstone is, asks him one last time what they brought for him, and what he will use it for, partially because she’s curious, partially because she’s concerned. She asks if it will be dangerous for the city, but he scoffs, saying it will not harm anyone. Raenerys offers to forego her fee for the hit, if he divulges to her what the package is for. He thinks on it for a moment, then says that it is an offer he can’t refuse. He gestures for them to follow, as he gets up and heads to a hidden door behind the bar.
On the other side is the rest of his operation, with around 40 people hanging around in a network of rooms, sleeping, playing cards or frolicking with prostitutes. They head to a side hallway of considerable size, being led to a small circular chamber with a device in the center, where the hearthstone is resting on top of it. He closes the door, then asks if the party is ready, before putting his hand on the hearthstone. The chamber shifts, the air feels cleaner, and there is daylight beneath the door. Draakos explains that the package, a hearthstone with some modification, is paired with another identical one, allowing him to transport between the two stones at will. He simply wants to have a way to smuggle his goods in an easy way. The only limitation being that there is a ten minute cooldown between transfers, and it is only bonded to him.
Satisfied, but curious where they are, the party tries to identify anything about their current location, smelling the salt of the ocean nearby, and hearing the faint noise of seagulls flying outside. Draakos laughs, asking if they are satisfied with knowing the package they delivered won’t harm anyone, before taking them back to Goldenworth after the cooldown period has passed. He leads them back to the underground tavern, saying he looks forward to seeing them the next day, when all his troubles will end.