Captain Lain Cooper of the Eastern Watchouse is looking for a group of independent adventurers to look into a number of leads throughout the city acquired over the period of destabilisation which couldn’t be acted upon at the time. Pay is 20 Riel per head for simple investigation with significant bonuses based on the resolution of identified problems.
The party arrived at the watch house and were given a list of problems to investigate by Captain Lain Cooper. He also warned them not to cause more tensions between the watch and the Cargans given that some of the problems were on the Cargan side. He gave them paperwork to prove their affiliation with the watch and set them off with the list.
Firstly the party decided to look into a nosy individual at the College of the Stars about whom a prominent Darrish noble had offered some complaint. Talking to Francis Veil and his study group they learned that he seemed highly gregarious and had some contact with a red headed smiling man. They also learned that in spite of his scholarship he seemed reasonably academically incompetent. Having had his sense of suspicion bound by Twine he was quite easy to extract some information from. Putting these things together they supposed that he was some form of spy, though they couldn’t place for whom.
Deciding to next look into an abandoned house they used magic to overhear a group of wayfinders plotting to throw the city into flux, seemingly funded by the same smiling redhead. They beat the wayfinders into unconsciousness and handed them over to the watch after first drugging and interrogating one of them to confirm the nature of the plot and funding.
Crossing over the river the party encountered heavy tensions between watch and Cargan soldiers over a criminal incident which they did nothing to abate. The situation didn’t quite manage to come to blows however and the party once again made use of mind altering magic to ease their path.
Arriving at a warehouse believed to be the lair of a group of populist revolutionaries the party once again try to eavesdrop on the conversation inside but largely fail due to its exceedingly quiet nature. They storm the building to find a group of small children occupying the warehouse who when confronted with a charging group of armed men attempt to flee. Using magic to stop their escape they interrogate the orphans at sword point, discovering that the group they were looking for headed off into the sewers during the reconquest of the city from Blackthorn and haven’t returned. Rather than try to track them through the sewers they write them off as gone.
Next the party look into a drug cartel appearing at their main warehouse claiming to be looking to buy. The leader is goaded into opening the doors and attacking them by the binding up of his sense of self restraint when it becomes obvious that he would only direct them to his distributors. In the resulting brawl one of the toughs is allowed to bleed out. Interrogating the leader they discover that the gang has recently gained a large amount of questionable investment from a smiling man (that the records show to have black hair) and have moved into distributing a drug called Skag. Later investigation in Victor’s lab shows that the stuff is made primarily from cow brain and as the gang described has some deeply unpleasant long term consequences for its users. Trying to avoid crossing over the divide in the city again the party next look into a house in a quiet residential area from which the neighbours have been complaining about worrying noises that the watch suspect may involve torture. Victor knocks on the door posing as a potions salesman and is met by a fellow alchemist at the door, though some shouting is heard from within. They decide that the easiest way to get into the house is through a neighbour’s, drugging the resident to avoid his reacting. Breaking in silently through the shared attic they drop a number of the residents coming upstairs without raising any alarm. They discover that the majority of the houses inhabitants seem to be incompetent wizards, seemingly lead by a fairly powerful wounding mage. As they finish dealing with the wounded they hear worrying noises emanating from the basement. In the basement they find an enormous mechanical/alchemical apparatus currently in the process of overloading. Whilst they fetch the wounding mage they decide against waking him up and the device promptly overloads disgorging fleshy monstrosities. Once they are dealt with and their deaths magically prevented they wake the mage Theodore to question whether the alchemical wounding apparatus has in fact been used to manufacture students. When he denies that any of the results of the process have yet been successful he confirms that his research has been funded by a tall blonde smiling man. Disgusted by his unrepentant unethical research they leave him in the basement with his monstrosities presuming that when they awake first they’ll eat him.
Returning to the council held side of the city they investigate a group of royalist sympathisers meeting in a teahouse. After a long chat and free cake they determine that the little old ladies with royalist sympathies are in fact completely harmless, in fact currently distributing some printed propaganda that specifically calls for a non-violent solution to the city’s current situation. The party discover that the free cake is provided by a tall blonde fellow who covers the tab once a week or so, “lovely young man, always a smile on his face”.
Finally they look into a group of moneylenders with known true council connections. Whilst they are discussing the terms of a potential loan with the foreman of the Aristocrats a tall dark haired grinning man comes in, warmly greets everyone, then proceeds to engage in some business in the back room.
As he leaves the party follow the smiling man, and when out of sight of the true council group beat him up and knock him out. When he comes to, Twine, wearing the mask of Clay convinces him that he is on his side and weasels the address of his hideout from him, as well as the information that there is a priest of the Jubilant Mask somewhere in the city. The smiling man is then promptly knocked out again and handed over to the watch.
The party head to his hideout, where they find a local gang hired to guard the place. Using the mask of the smiling man Twyne persuades the guards that he is supposed to be here, but when he doesn’t pay the gang their wages for the job gives up on the disguise and with the help of the rest of the party beats him up. searching the place they find a sack of very shiny, slightly too perfect riel, another two masks, and a stack of envelopes addressed to a Jake at a local pub, with the annotation postage paid in the top right hand corner.
The party heads to the pub where the letters addressed to jake are sent. Victor persuades tha barkeep that he works for him and the party use this to stake the place out until “Jake” turns up to pick up his mail. During this time Tywne, spooked when a random suggestion of a name from one of the patrons was his, decides that he might be the spy and follows him when he leaves, then when he is alone beats him up in an alleyway (leaving him with his last 2 Riel in a confusing reverse mugging). When a man shows up asking for Jake’s letters Victor uses glove of the Poisoner to dose “Jake” with Limb drop. When he notices something is wrong Twyne comes over to help, and under the guise of helping speeds the process up. When it becomes clear to him that better help is needed, Twyne silences him and slows the trip to a Tender shrine as much as possible. Victor runs ahead and lets the church know that his friend is bringing in someone who took poison when confronted. When “Jake” and Twyne arrive at the shrine he is fed sleep of death by Victor and dies without waking up in the midst of amputation surgery by the local priest.
At this point the party realise that Jake could just have easily been a messege boy as the person in charge and examining the body find no evidence in either direction. The man clearly wasn’t wearing a mask but then again who knows what capabilities a true priest has. But having killed off their only lead without giving him a chance to speak they are forced to head back to the watch with the information they have.
Francis Vale does not disappear from the college after the ring was taken down. (Confirm about mana sense and active spells to discover whether his study buddy later confronts Twine).
The party take the documents sent to “Jake” to Colin Fletcher to get them translated. They consist of reports on the progress from 7-8 different sets of groups. One of the groups is identified by the party as the set they have just investigated.
The party handed the documents over to both the watch who got on with tracking down the other members of the ring, but are struggling with the fact that many of the groups mentioned have bases in currently cargan held territory, and thus they are not getting reports from watchmen about activity. While tywne and Victor gave the documents to the cargan forces, and ensured it made its way up the chain, the cargan forces are finding it hard to sort out due to not being a police force, and thus lacking necessary reports to identify the groups mentioned.
Paige also hands over to the watch 20 Riel of very shiny money obtained from the man in the masks hideout that tastes like it was minted somewhere not in acryn and feels like a riel more than it should to the watch. The Watch replaces this money with other Riel.
Rewards
Paige: 60 Riel, 1 mask - given to colin fletcher for experimentation and broken
Twine: 60 Riel, 1 mask
Victor Darrish: 60 Riel, 1 mask