Duplicity offered to pay 100 gp apiece and ceded any claim on additional coin or items the Golden Vault acquired within the casino. All her money was to be held in her modified Bag of Holding.
In the weeks after the Murkmire Malevolence, Rasmus O'Dranith had learned to magically disguise himself at will, using Mikahbu's Arcane Focus to get up to great hijinks and thievery in lower Cliffsunder. Leilatha Vencaryn realized she could manifest fungal powers through the use of Wildshape, and had taken Greta Pearl to Elven healers in the Murkmire Marshlands to fix her Curse. Dee now lacked Matthew the Ascended as a travel companion, so reached out to her former mentor in the Whistledrop Crew, Nessa Nina Quickpick Rumbauld Pennyluck. Nessa was short on cash after paying off the Glitterati, and agreed to join the Golden Vault to fund her retirement.
They had all gathered at Doctor Danell's Apartment, where Dee had been staying since their first mission. Out of nowhere, the Adventurers were again contacted by their handler Meera Raheer, who sent animal messengers bearing Golden Vault Keys. Following subsequent instructions by their Golden Vault Music Box, they met Duplicity Kye at the Brine Widow tavern. Seductive but professional, Duplicity told the thieves about her backstory and relationships with Quentin and Gildur Draak. Quentin had ultimately betrayed Duplicity, stealing 5000 gold pieces and opening up the Afterlife Casino, a gambling hall based on the concept of the Nine Hells. She gave the thieves Gildur's Map and a modified Bag of Holding that only she had the code to access. Their mission was to steal back her rightful winnings as well as an erinyes statuette that was set to be the prize at a three-dragon ante tournament the next day, dubbed the "Grand Minauros Invitational".
In a gorgeous wagon, Duplicity took them to a cobblestone lot on the Helefir River six miles outside the city. The Afterlife was aggressively committed in its theming, and they arrived by a silent watchman who ferried them down the "River Styx" after tolling a bell on his boat. Built out of a hollowed cavern, the casino was split in two by the waters, which dropped precipitously to the ocean below, and Rasmus spotted two Spined Devils hidden in its entrance tunnel. Security staff apparently knew they were coming and had ritually cast a Spell to see their magic items, which were taken to the Casino's vault. After learning its rules, they were then free to do as they pleased, though were always under the watchful gaze of strategically-placed Magic Mirrors.
They all went to the bar "Malbolge", purchasing Fiend-themed drinks and conferring with the bartender Libation about the next day's tournament. In watching its patrons and talking with Libation, they learned that the staff were entirely composed of tieflings, many of whom were headhunted from all over Commona. They were all uniformed in similar suits and held magic keycards that accessed staff-only areas, and the cashiers operated magical registers where tokens appeared and coins disappeared from thin air.
Rasmus and Leila investigated the expensive "Phlegethosian" Spa & "Stygian" Baths, hidden from the Mirror's gaze and with a laundry area that housed employee uniforms. They ate at the restaurant "Nessus", and Rasmus used its guarded bathroom quickly cast an Unseen Servant while Leila went upstairs to lose her silver at a Tricky Devil slot machine. Nessa and Dee, meanwhile, indulged in Games across the main areas of "Avernus", "Dis", and "Minaurous". They hustled a green Dragonborn in a game of Three-Dragon Ante by pretending to be new players, and Nessa in particular came out on top.
Everyone reconvened at the start of a circus performance, but found that the Cirque "Maldomini" was ill-attended. It featured acrobats, banjo players, three Baboons, and a fire-ring-jumping Lion named Emrys. At the end of a truly underwhelming show, the thieves coordinated to distract a toothless guard and to occupy the area's magic mirror. While they did, Leila sent a Spider Familiar to accompany the acrobats down the tunnel to their staging area.
Leilatha found that the Cirque performers were worried that they would have to use their last Potion of Animal Friendship to control Emrys, who had grown depressed. Skittering past the employee lounge to the security office, her spider found that the mirrors were watched by only a handful of guards, that a 13th mirror not marked on their map existed, and that a keyring hung on the wall outside further cells. Another office held a magical self-writing ledger that confirmed the casino held around 5000 gold at any given time, as well as their magic items; if they were successful, they would be robbing Quentin Togglepocket for all he was worth.
In Quentin's office, her spider was unable to open the Gnome's locked drawers, but through keyholes saw a silk bag and a strange bone rod with two copper Minotaur heads. On his north wall, a bas-relief depicted a host of winged Devils catching mortals as they plunged into the Lower Realms, and Leila's spider investigated up-close. Somehow, she ascertained that runes hidden in the bas-relief contained magic that was connected to Hell itself, and that only Quentin would be able to access it.
Though she hadn't yet found the vault, Leila was worried that her familiar would be seen by the mirror outside the office, so dismissed it and rejoined her friends. The team had had been gambling in games of Twelve Kingdom's Bluff and Life And Death, and while everyone else lost a few chips, Nessa cleaned up in every game she played. Hopefully, her luck would continue: they had a casino to rob and a tournament to ruin.
