Session 9 - In Hiding

This is the 9th session of the campaign Echoes 2

Summary
The party decided to take two days off after stealing the Smoking Crown to lay low and stay out of sight. During that time they each took an opportunity to accomplish some personal goals, or reach out and speak with people:

Emeran - He decided to gather the group to play some music in the bar, however, their performance wasn't very good. He also spoke to Autumn about how he came to be in the city, and what he was looking to accomplish here. Autumn told him how he came from the Feywild, but avoided the Dunland Civil War. How he spent most of his time traveling, and that he's looking for someone.

Themus - He sent 300 gold pieces to an unknown location using the postal service. He then spent his time at the Borrowed Nest, a church dedicated to the Matron, and prayed.

Autumn - Because he wasn't seen physically at the auction he decided to go bar hopping in the Riff to try and hear rumors circulating around town and heard a few things. There are a group of feral bears attacking people on the road between Kronstrad and Buyway, and they are stealing fish. A dragon has apparently been spotted near Trawlwind. The Society of Circles is sending members up north to Kronstrad to look into the supposed demonic incursions. He also heard that Vincenzo Carposi is stretching his forces thin trying to find information and collect on debts. He also learned that Coinmaster Ignasi went into hiding at the National Bank, and was rumored to lock himself in one of the vaults at night.

Elias - He decided to make some healing potions with the Red Stout mushrooms that were found within the Bottom City. With the help of Acaelus, the two of them managed to make 2 lesser and 1 greater healing potion. He then gave one of the potions to Astraea, stating also that he'd be there for her if she needs help on the battlefield, to which Astraea reciprocated the feeling.

Astraea - She finished reading her book on the topic of the Great Fall in hopes that it would jog her memory. The book was a historical account of the war fought between the Gods and the Demonic, and an account of the preceding events. It seemed to be that reading about the past didn't help jog her memory, but experiencing things that remind her of the past often give her flashbacks.

Acaelus - He visited the Padlock Tome and bought the spell Disguise Self. He turned Martin into an owl and went to visit Astraea who named the owl Shawn. They also discussed the book she was reading, and if it helped her any. Afterward, he spoke with Elias about his time before getting to the city. He learned that Elias was born in Kingsburg, but spent most of his life imprisoned in The Golden City. He told Acaelus that there was where he discovered his faith, and how it's hard to put into words what that means to him.

The party had finished their two days of laying low and in the morning after, while eating breakfast, Joy approached the group and told Acaelus that a woman arrived to see him. The woman in question was Delphine Gerhart, the Junagauge Arcanis member who Acaelus and Astraea encountered on the road into the city. She was dressed in noble attire, seemingly in a disguise of some kind. Acaelus approached her alone the two had various conversations about what the other knew. Delphine told Acaelus that his messages to her caught the attention of other people in the Arcanis. The first being Audiphant Dieter Van Horn, Delphine's mentor and the person she reports to. She tells Acaelus that he's sympathetic to the cause (referring to Astraea) and that if he's looking for some work he can contact Van Horn. She also mentioned a man named Elwin Eisenach, a fellow student of the Arcanis at Delphine's level. He also heard the messages by chance and seemed very interested in helping out as well, and that he would be seeking out Acaelus in the coming days to ask for his help. Delphine doesn't know him too well but says that Elwin is a scientist. She then tells Acaelus that due to Van Horn overhearing the messages that she was able to use that to her advantage, and she has been assigned to investigate the war crimes that Acaelus's grandfather Vanden Hamin has been charged with. She is going to leave for Rust Port soon and try and find out what happened. She tells Acaelus that she hoped to find his grandfather innocent, but says she's going to find out the truth regardless.

She then asks Acaelus if the two of them could go somewhere private and conduct an Arcanis Hearing, basically a questioning to ensure that Acaelus had nothing to do with the war crimes his grandfather may have committed. As she was setting up her tools she explained that the Junaguage Arcanis essentially means A Place for Young Magic-Users and that an Audiphant was a person who listens intently to try and gain an advantage over the person who they're listening to. She then began the processing by ringing a tuning fork and did so after every question. The questions were personal and occasionally seemed on the topic of Rust Port and the massacre. Delphine seemed satisfied with Acaelus's answers to the question, though most answers seemed to be "I don't know." At the very end of her questioning, Acaelus looked into Delphine's eyes and saw that like a pair of windows were shining yellow and seemed glassy. She also offered one day to teach how to do the questioning to Acaelus, and finally took her leave for Rust Port.

After that, the party decided to go to the Quiet Kettle and see to Dumont. When they arrived they saw Dumont looking over a map of the city while Viron was seeing how many eggs Sir Oswald could fit in his mouth. Themus was able to slip another egg in. Sir Oswald clamped down and ate the eggs. Dumont congratulated the group on the successful heist and requested to see the Smoking Crown, after chiding the group on not getting rid of it. Dumont seemed disturbed by the item and asked it to be put away. He then told the party that he had to pay off the people who the party rented the horses and carriage from since the party ditched the horses and burned the carriage. Dumont decided that this was enough to cause him to not reward the party with the additional funds promised to them from the excess they had after buying some items at the auction. This caused an immediate air of hostility and was further escalated when Acaelus broke a wine glass after Dumont was being condescending. Themus pulled Acaelus aside and warned him that doing things like that would upset Sir Oswald and that he should be careful. Dumont then brought forward information about Acaelus's grandfather's trial, and how there had been talks for a while about it being closed doors due to the sensitivity of the issue, but that brought on too many suspicions, so the trial was going to be public. Dumont was also able to identify the woman who Autumn was looking was, and that the woman named Joleen was seen at the Borrowed Nest in the apprenticeship of becoming a Matron. Finally, Dumont revealed to the party through a daily news article that a golden-skinned tiefling, who had ties to the Carposi family, went into the Bitter Crow and slaughters some people inside, him being dubbed the Bitter Crow Butcher. It seems that in part the heist, but also Themus being spotted at the party, brought on enough suspicion towards Themu's Uncle that he had to kill to get away. Dumont suspects that if someone was able to get away from the area most associated with the Carposi Family alive, that he would have to venture down into the Bottom City. Dumont said that he would keep investigating where this tiefling may have gone to and that he had no further task for the party as of this moment.

The party reconvinced at the Jaunt and discussed what to do next while Autumn went to the Borrowed Nest to see about Joleen. As he approached the building some of the crows up in the rookery started to shout out "Music!" and Autumn stopped to play some. When he finished a Matron was standing there listening as well. Her named was Matron Olivia and she showed Autumn around the church. There were several citizens and a reporter in the church trying to ask Olivia questions since she is looking to become the next district warden of the Gullies. She showed Autumn to one of the Silent Cells, a place for meditation, and told him to close his eyes, embrace the darkness, and let his mind wander. He did so in the completely silent and dark room, and was taken just outside of his room visually, and led into a nearby chamber. Here he saw many other Matrons in training, and one of which seemed to be Joleen. Between Autumn's vision and Joleen were glowing gold bars, akin to a cage, but Autumn wasn't sure if he was in the cage, or Joleen was. Autumn left shortly after without speaking to Joleen.

The party decided, based on Astraea's suggestion, to look into the demonic incursions that are rumored to be happening around the city. The party first went to see Detective Burnside who was overseeing the Southern Stockade since the Kegger attack. To the party's joy, they witnessed Captain Angore training war veterans at the Stockade into becoming city guards, apparently, Bryden Dwyer kept his word. Burnside was around, with his partner Cooper who is a clumber spaniel hound archon. The party asked him if he knew anything about demonic activity within the area and he seemed to not know much. He informed the party that all but one of the Keggers had abandoned their outpost. The last Kegger happened to be Adano who the party had interacted with before. He was being held prisoner at the nearby jailhouse, along with Sazo Greatbelly, and the party got permission from Burnside to go speak with the two of them.

The party made it down to the jailhouse, and to Adano's cell. He seemed to be rather worse for wear, doesn't look like he's slept, and seemed troubled. He told the party what happened. Two days before Ronnie attacked the Stockade the man who Ronnie was working with visually appeared (we find out later through Acaelus that the man was using Project Image). The man was elvan and had a local accent, he wore nondescript brownish robes and wore a red mask, made of demonic flesh. He coerced Ronnie into making the final deal, either attack the Jaunt and his people could go free or refuse and he would kill all of the Keggers. Ronnie accepted the deal, but Adano said that Ronnie didn't seem like himself. The man in the mask left then, saying that he would try to finish the job himself. Adano then laid out exactly as much he knew about the original task. Ronnie was tasked with scaring the owners of the Jaunt out of the establishment so that Sazo Greatbelly could purchase the building as the District Warden so that the orchestrator of this plan could gain complete access to the supposed hidden tunnel beneath the Jaunt.

The group talked with Sazo as well about the topics, needing to press him harshly before he gave anything away. He mostly echoed what Adano said but added that the man in the mask was looking for a girl who he suspected was in the tunnels beneath the Jaunt. He would receive messages from this masked man from his fireplace and warned the party that the cult behind the masked man was one that worshipped fire. The party promised to help out Sazo by getting him some books to read.

To close out the night the party briefly stopped by the Town Hall of the Gullies and met a few of the candidates who were seeking to become the next District Warden, looking out for the fact that one of them could be the masked man, or could be hired by the masked man. They met Callie Wingright, Coinmaster Barton Rossi, Matron Olivia, Arduke Cobbleway, and Damatacus Arborback. The party decided to head back to the Jaunt for the night, but on the morrow would look into the demonic presence in the city further, and to potentially head downward to find them.