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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cypherblade" data-source="post: 9791247" data-attributes="member: 7048389">[spoiler]<h2>2nd of Autumn, 500 A.O.V.</h2>At the café across from the RHCStover invites us across the street for a drink.He’s clearly a bit shaken, but as long as we’ve got nothing to hide, it shouldn’t be a problem. Still, an audit can easily drag on for two weeks — with a personal interview at the end. For now, that means we’re limited to fieldwork only.That suits us just fine — Bole is only a day’s travel away, and we’ll need to reach the ziggurat anyway. It’ll take time, but at least we’re clear to go.Stover’s day is done — but ours isn’t.[HR][/HR]<h2>The Tin Pot, Bosum Strand</h2>We decide to track down “Big Benny”, the fixer Simon mentioned. Felix suggests we shouldn’t all go in together. Ayleen and Staf agree — these shady deals work better when handled in small groups, preferably in dim corners.Felix and Sarïa head inside. Asking for Big Benny turns out to be easier than expected. They claim to be looking for an amulet that fell out of the museum inventory — information they “got from Simon.”As long as their coin purse is deep enough, that’s good enough for Benny’s people. Still, there’s some suspicion. They’re told to visit a sweet shop near the metro station by the weapons expo — a place called “The Bonbon Box.”Felix and Sarïa leave without issue — or so they think.<h2>The Bonbon Box</h2>When we pass the RHC, the audit is still in full swing. The inspectors are clearly working overtime.The metro station by the weapons fair is easy to find, and so is the candy shop. Ayleen suggests raiding the place right away — after all, it’s clearly a front for stolen goods.Staf and Kane sneak around back, hopping over the wall, while Felix, Sarïa, and Ayleen enter through the front.An old lady appears behind the counter. We ask for “magical sweets” — the kind that used to be sold at the museum. She confirms she can get such things “by order.” If we come back at midnight, she’ll have something for us.Meanwhile, Staf and Kane find nothing unusual in the back — just a poor little house with two meowing cats. They leave without incident.<h2>At the RHC</h2>Before midnight, we stop by the RHC so Staf can pick up his armor and maul. We take a short rest there.Sarïa is approached by Dima, a colleague. Apparently Rock Rackus has a crush on her and is already composing a ballad about the women of the RHC.In the cells, Rock Rackus and Simon are both still being held. Kane tags along “just to keep an eye on Simon.”The bard insists he’s innocent — that he’s a hero, an artist, that he needs to perform. He even sings us a verse from his “new song.” It’s unbelievable. Zero sense of responsibility.Simon, meanwhile, is bored out of his mind. Kane questions him again. Simon admits he’s never even been to the Tin Pot. The fool. He won’t find much sympathy from us when it comes time to testify in court. Between his recklessness with the staff and his obvious lies, he’s not helping his case.<h2>The Midnight Meeting</h2>We return to the candy shop and take up hidden positions nearby.Around midnight, a woman appears, lingers briefly by the door, then walks off toward the metro construction site. Ayleen follows her quietly.The woman descends into the unfinished station, moving toward a large tarp by a work pit. On the opposite platform, she stops and waits.A note on the candy shop’s door confirms it:Kane and Staf turn invisible, following the others. Felix calls out, “Hello?” and the woman answers immediately, noting that there are five of us.Kane spots something odd under the tarp — the barrel of a gun.The woman claims to have “a few items for sale” — the amulet, the sword, and some “leftovers from her time with Reed Macbannin.”When she names her price — 25,000 gold — we protest. Simon paid only a few hundred, after all. She flatly denies that, insisting the real price is 5,000 florins.Kane and Staf move toward the tarp. Staf yanks it off — revealing a tripod-mounted weapon, a drum-shaped construct with a built-in gun.Naturally, Staf grabs it. Naturally, it comes to life and opens fire.The woman tries to flee.Staf hurls the construct into the pit, but three more animated guns open fire from other positions. Ayleen kicks one, trying to knock it over, but she’s not strong enough — instead, she fires a shot at the fleeing woman.Felix casts Blindness/Deafness — the woman is blinded. One construct shoots Felix, sending him tumbling into the pit, wounded.Behind the woman, a robotic humanoid steps out, smashing the planks across the pit.The woman casts a dispel magic and runs like hell.Staf swings his maul, denting a gun construct but not destroying it. Ayleen stabs another down and leaps into the pit to help Felix.Felix rises and hurls a Chromatic Orb, blasting both the robot and the gun constructs — two are destroyed instantly, and the robot staggers under the hit.The automaton hesitates, then tries to flee — but Sarïa, in lion form, circles the pit and intercepts it.Staf charges through the pit, followed by Ayleen and Felix. The robot lands a heavy blow on Sarïa, but she hits back. Staf climbs out and smashes the robot again, while Ayleen and Felix unleash one last volley.The creature finally collapses under Kane’s Toll the Dead.The machine’s core contains the familiar black oil. Ayleen stows the gun constructs in the Bag of Holding.<h2>The Candy Shop Revisited</h2>We return to the sweet shop. Ayleen picks the front door lock while Staf breaks down the back one, storms upstairs, and drags the old woman down.Under questioning, we learn she only warned her daughter — Kaia.Kaia recently started working for Lorcan Kell, running “a little business” against her mother’s wishes.She lives with Kell now, apparently having taken Ayleen’s old place in the organization.The old woman communicates with her daughter through Sending Stones, but the day’s magic has already been spent.Kane casts his own Sending instead, ordering Kaia to return to the shop.We confiscate the Sending Stone.Soon, a reply arrives — Kaia doesn’t trust us.Staf makes her mother scream in pain, hoping to urge her daughter to hurry.About half an hour later, Kaia arrives. She negotiates with Felix — poor thing, she clearly needs money. The 5,000 florins from yesterday weren’t enough.When Staf appears in the doorway holding her mother, Kaia draws her weapon. Kane quickly casts Hold Person, and Ayleen slaps Manacles on her wrists and disarms her.We take her back to the RHC and throw her in the magic warded cell.[HR][/HR]<h2>3rd of Autumn, 500 A.O.V.</h2>In the morning, a letter arrives at the RHC — from Colonel Sebastian Harlock of the Risuri Army.He’s heard of our encounters with strange creatures and requests that the remains be sent to the military headquarters for analysis.Meanwhile, Ayleen identifies the magical staff:It’s a +1 staff that can cast Magic Missile, Burning Hands, and Forbiddance.The summoning of extraplanar horrors isn’t an intended feature — it appears to be a side effect of the Forbiddance magic.Ayleen casts Detect Planar Energy but can’t categorize it. It’s not Bleak Gate or elemental — something else entirely. But at least now she could recognize the same energy if she ever sensed it again.We question Kaia again.After three attempts, a Suggestion spell finally takes hold:We finally realize that this Kaia is the same Kaia Stewart, head researcher who fled Macbannin’s lab.At the university, we learned she graduated twelve years ago in arcanoscience, planar physics, and alchemy.She was also the close friend of Lydia Tarnwell from The Flint Observer — the same Lydia who supposedly fled the country. We found her house abandoned, luggage half-packed.But apparently, she never left Flint.Seems like Kell’s “hospitality” knows no bounds.Kane also prepares Remove Curse that morning — planning to cast it on Xambria Meredith.[/spoiler]I was glad the players finally start paying attention to some details. When mommy dropped Kaja's name and Kaja dropped McBannin's name, they finally started to put things together and realised this must be the same Kaja that fled the mansion.</blockquote>

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