Amanda Roads, a reputable lawyer from Bartholomew's Inn has discretely put about that a client is seeking enterprising and most of all discrete individuals to perform a delicate service.
Some local travel will be involved, familiarity with the customs of the South West an advantage, and any prior misunderstandings or arrangements with Acryn Law Enforcement should be declared in advance.
The party are employed to intercept a Serradic emissary to the true council known only as 'Clay', replace him, and sour relations with the Empire amongst those members of the Council who seem to lack patriotic vigor.
The group is able to capture Clay without too much difficulty and hand him over to their employer for 'debriefing' they then learn that they need to meet a merchant named Braddock and validate their identity with them. This proves reasonably easy as a group of fledging adventurers is harassing the go-between and driving them off earns his cooperation.
They then visit the White Duke at his Palace of Games, but despite some inappropriate gambling etiquette from Ricardo and some less than impressive diplomatic overtures from 'Clay', the crime boss doesn't seem overly put out, though a snooping Samuel notes that a tail is sent after them, and that the Duke appears to be in communication with the other targets.
That night the party is attacked in their inn by a couple of Binding Mage assassins and their killer marionettes. They overcome the enemy and Ricardo recognises them as members of the group that once served Mr Strings. He helps them to escape and fouls up his compatriots' attempts to recapture them.
The next day they head out to meet Herb Gardener and having beaten up his plantation staff proceed into his manor/greenhouse, there they encounter his giant mushroom guards and whilst Warrior!Samuel and Twine speak with the outlaw Reed and Skye get completely off their face on spores. Syke is so far gone in his hallucinations that he swallows an enormous bite of unprocessed magic mushroom.
Having dragged their drugged comrade away they decide that this negotiation also went too well, storm back in and torch the joint. Afterwards Twine pumps Herb full of an unstable mix of his produce whilst purging Skye of the worst of the hallucinations.
Returning through Acryn they are accosted by a large gang apparently in the employ of a member of the Department of Public Works. Having encountered one of the government agents previously Samuel Skye reveals the details of the situation to the official, unfortunately the agent is not 100% convinced by their story and tries to take them in to get to the bottom of this. A confused fight breaks out, and whilst the party prevails, agent Smithson escapes. Much to Skye's dismay he soon hears from an employee that his post office has come under investigation by the government. He sets his lawyer in motion to deal with the problem and protect the mail.
The party travel to the old abandoned Royal Asylum for the Criminally Insane and to the suprise of no-one find it populated by a host of flux-born monstrosities. Sam Skye slips past the nightmarish inmates and the remaining party members are hard pressed to hand the murderous creatures that refuse to die.
Skye presses on to the Chief Physician's office and meets with the clearly bonkers Doc Longknife, informing him that the Empire will be enforcing a 45% tax on profits before beating a hasty retreat out of a third story window and away, a host of Heartstoke Zombies in pursuit.
The rest of the party capitalise on the Doc's reduced staff to lay the smack down. However things go a bit wrong when Twine falls and Samuel is heard loudly invoking the warrior. In the end they are forced to pursue the twisted wounding mage through the flux, eventually cutting him down and binding his mana-imbued Heart long enough to return it to their employer.
As a final task the party is send to rob a caravan carrying a portion of the Council's monies to their banks in Margush, ensuring that the guards are aware that this is an Imperial toll. Scouting the caravan before their ambush Syke notes that it is guarded by a well known underworld hard-case called the Courier. They engage, making sure the Courier believes Clay to be behind the attack.
Having cut down the members of the caravan the party are approached by a slender-tailed woman claiming to be their employer. Despite some tension she offers them a payment of a further 100R for their services. She offers Sam Skye a reduced payment in exchange for the Council's aid in his legal battle. The party accept the payment from the Lady of Keys and her group claims the strongbox and vanishes into the flux.
Ricardo leads them into the flux and drops them off across the countryside to make their own way home.
Ricardo then vists the old puppet theatre, where he defeated Mr Strings, and informs his successor Ragdoll that the Lady of Keys is responsible for the theft of the Council's cash. The assassin boss is pleased to receive the information and rewards him with a puppet in his own image. Richard Twine is brought in to have a look at the creepy doll informs him that it is a servitor that will obey his commands, neglecting to mention that it might have other functions.
Samuel of the Warrior and Richard keep their Masks, the latter bearing the face of an unremarkable Acryn native. Samuel's mask, though less distinctive than his dessicated form is of a ruddy, crimson skin tone of unknown origin.
Samuel Skye's problems with the Department of Hygiene vanish after a week of disruption at the post office, courtesy of his new friends in lows places.
The effects of the mushroom consumption are permanent- occasional hallucinations that leave him uncertain of whether any wierd things he encounters are actually real or not. This is treatable as per an alchemical addiction.