2 Lamashan 4715

Starday

Session 34

As the Ravens get ready for the day, Laria comes down to the Wasps nest to let the group know that some fancy, official looking woman was upstairs asking after the group. Tahlulah rushes up to see what’s going on, followed closely by Ham and Perfidus who start to get worried. Ayse decides he may as well go see, and finally Lucius drags himself upstairs to see what the commotion is.

The woman introduces herself as Elia Nonez, and she is there to request the party’s presence on the Scourge of Belial on behalf of its captain. Taking into account her Chelaxian Navy uniform, Ayse notices she conspicuously left out the honorific of “Her Infernal Magistx’s” in the ships name, implying a distancing from the Thrunish authority. The group talks it over and decide to follow her back to the ship to hear out the captains request. Over the course of the walk, both Ayse and Tahlulah hit on her, and she thoroughly rebuffs both. SHe leads the party out through the Salt Gate and to the Old Harbor where the ship is currently undergoing repairs. The group boards, and are escorted directly to the captain cabin.

Elia opens the door to display a resplendent man and his ostentatious quarters. The man introduces himself as Captain Sargeta. He is served by a variety of halfling servants, and has a monkey in a sailors uniform, as well as multiple tropical birds on display. The animals seems to freak out when Tahlulah and Ham enter, so he covers the bird cage and hides the monkey behind himself, while offering the party seats across from his desk. After some sizing up on both sides, the captain finally makes his request.

He asks the Ravens to discreetly deliver a sealed envelop to Marquel Aulorian under cover of darkness. He request the envelope remain unopened, and to return with Marquel’s response. The party immediately picks up on a potential romantic connection, and begins prying him for more information. The captain explains that due to his foreign heritage, he is disallowed from stepping foot in Kintargo due to the Eight Proclamation, despite being a captain in the Chelish Navy. Since he is stuck here on the ship waiting for repairs, he has not been able to deliver word himself. Furthermore, incase the attempt goes poorly, he wants to send messengers who are unaffiliated with him so as to not arouse suspicion due to Auxis Aulorian’s recent and increasing support of Barzillai.

The party addresses concerns over his affiliation with the Thrune government, and the captain claims that he will not act directly against the queen or her officials, but his current predicament has left a bad impression of Barzillai for him so he harbors no love for the local government of Kintargo. He intimates knowledge of recent escapades of the Ravens, and thought they may be good candidates for getting the job done discreetly, though this sets the group on edge. He additionally offers a nebulous “reward” for completing the task, and after deliberation, the party decides to take him up on this job.

The group departs for the Aulamaxa Estate to begin preparations.

Session 35

At the Aulamaxa Estate, Tessing gets the party situated in a side room with some drinks, and the group discusses plans to get the letter to Marquel that night. The only additional information the Ravens are able to glean for the mission are the sketched map and rough details of guard duties provided by the Captain. Eventually, the group decides that Ayse will make a solo attempt, with the rest of the group just outside of the estate ready to provide backup.

Night falls, and the party makes way quietly aroung the back of the Aulorian estate, posting up between the Greens wall and estate wall. It is here that Ayse’s myriad of alchemical tricks come into play. He starts by giving himself spider-climb, and swiftly clambers over the estate wall. From there, he cautiously prowls up to the Manor house beneath the window indicated by the Captain. He climbs up to said window and quietly knocks, announcing himself as a representative of Captain Sargeta sent to deliver a message, regardless of who may be beyond. A hand peeks out under the curtains, and the latch is heard to be unlocked, though Ayse just continues to sit there talking and knocking. Eventually, he hears a window around the corner open , and he heads to it, but as he draws near, a rapier flashes out from it and a voice decries the attempted kidnapping.

Ayse is a bit stunned, but unharmed, and makes hasty introductions. Luckily, the man in the window is indeed Marquel. Unluckily, he initially seems to want nothing to do with Captain Sargeta. The two have a lengthy back and forth about why they should trust one another, and despite every word out of Ayse’s mouth implying that he doesn’t trust Marquel, Marquel finally agrees to accept the note. After reading, Ayse immediately pries into the contents, and Marquel awkwardly relents and gives a brief summary of their relationship. ITs definitely sexual though he doesn’t outright say that.

Marquel explains that due to his disagreement with Barzillai’s politics, his father has all but imprisoned him in his home, and as such he and Captain Sargeta have been separated for some time. Marquel wishes to be escorted to the Captain to meet with him asap. And Ayse agrees without consulting the party. The plan to get Marquel out is immediately complicated when he askes how Ayse dealt with the guard dog.

Ayse explains that he never saw a dog, so Marquel lets him know that there is indeed a hellhound that patrols the grounds, and not moments latter it circles a corner into view below. Ayse waits for the ahound to finish its patrol route and head back the way it came, then gives both of them invisibility and sends Marquel out through the back door while he climbs out of the compound at the nearest wall, and heads back to the party. Ayse updates the party on the plan, then climbs back up the estate wall where he originally entered and had left a rope to wait for Marquel to tug it as a signal. Once he does, the party pulls him up and over.

After Lucius and Marquel briefly reacquaint, they make way quickly back to the Aulamaxa estate where Tessig lets them back in through a side entrance. The party gets to know Marquel and vice versa, as they discuss political events, and Lucius realizes that Marquel is actually the “Poison Pen of Kintargo” and calls him out on it. Marquel seems to be getting cold feet about leaving his family for Captain Sargeta, but Lucius convinces him to take a chance beyond the prison of his father’s creation, and go to Sargeta and continue writing for the Ravens. Marquel is emboldened by the thought of a fresh start, but warns of his father’s reprisal once he’s noticed to be missing.

Further discussion is had about politics, and the Ravens’ trial is mentioned. After explaining the details, Marquel questions what kind of judiciary is taking place, as the system that the Ravens describes seems to employ centuries old tradition, a strange point of data in his eyes, as a look into what may be happening behind the scenes in Kintargo.

The party finally beds down to wait out curfew in the morning.