Gnome Hospitality

That gnome woman is...peculiar. She manages to elicit a sense of danger, of that you are somehow in deep trouble just by standing there and being overly polite, by being a gracious hostess. It is the most unsettling thing I have seen today and I have seen a rather lot of...unpleasantness this morning.
 
I am getting ahead of myself I think.
 
The day started with discussing Daine's dreams and the theories and the like. It seems to be a deliberate targetting of dragonmarked folk who wouldn't be missed; refugees and the like. They seem to be stealing their marks which is apparently unusual. I do not pretend to understand what these mark things are but I can imagine that given that they give additional power, there will always be people eager to seek it out. Dragonmarks - apart from abherrants - seem to be somewhat related to birth lines but not entirely so it is not something you could ordinarily just purchase or train to get. They happen, a circumstance of birth and chance. But if they can be removed, could they be transferred to someone else?
 
We had a quick look in the sewer where they found Jode's body but there was no clues. There are oozes in the sewers which consume everything in its path so it is perhaps not surprising that no clues remain. When we asked who found the corpses initially, we were told a homeless goblin girl named Rhazala found them. She was known to Terfel's friends and seemed to be in a more desperate situation than the refugees, if that is possible. We have no clue where this poor child is in this city but she's likely to be in the lower reaches. It is not much to go on but even if she saw a glimpse of someone or something unusual, it may help. Terfel spoke further with Lei, going into such things like prophecies and sphinxes and Daine fought a minotaur at one point. I am unsure how much this helps aside from Jode being told to find a key between two stones? The idea of trying to find two stones that only Jode could find in an entire city is somewhat daunting.
 
We eventually agreed to meet up with Alina as the next port of callin the investigation since she was bankrolling their initial works. Terfel left his son behind - I know he has seen much but he is still a child after all. We were in the lift when two beggars joined with us. These who were apparently of House Tarkanan. Its not a Dragonmark House I have heard of but I have came to understand that this may be a colloquialism. Regardless, two of their people were similarly killed like Jode - head caved in, brain matter missing, dragonmark gone. These two marks sound rather familiar - fire and a deathly touch - sound rather like the powers that those approached by the flayed man blessed them with. Far too many coincidences at this stage. I just wish we could find this skinless man, everything else would likely fall into place and we can stop any further unnecessary deaths.
 
The two beggars left, advising to speak to a rat if we were in trouble. If only we could have taken a rat in with us to Alina!
 
Alina lives in the gnomish district. It is remarkably quiant in comparision to the rest of the city. We were barely there for a few moments when we were given a letter with instructions to speak to a gardener in burgandy and gold. Even the gardeners in this area seem to be of a high status! It almost makes me feel rather out of place in my priestly garb. I am unsure if these insecurities are similarly felt by my companions but this was hardly the time and place to discuss this.
 
Not that the gnomes wanted to discuss anything with us. As soon as Alina's name was mentioned, they would be silent, scurry away as if the very act of saying her name would somehow summon her and her wrath. I had only heard about bits about her from Terfel and his friends but the reaction here did not bode well. Powerful, secretive. After a fair amount of trying, we eventually decided to track down this gardener. He was casually attending to some roses that were on fire. He didn't seem awfully concerned by the fact that the flowers were literally on fire. Maybe it is some strange rose breed in Khorvaire that appear to be on fire? I am hardly educated on the flora and fauna of this place. At least, this is what I foolishly thought until what happened next. Warden muttered the keyword and the rose bush moved away to reveal a tunnel. We clamboured in and eventually met with a door. We opened it to be met with the strangest room. Mirrored, almost entirely, with a window pointing to a view of the river which...shouldn't be possible. Some very plush looking chairs and six birds in very ornate cages. They seem to be...very still. For birds.
 
Eventually, the woman whose name seemed to strike fear into the hearts of many walked through the mirrored wall. She has a reflection but we do not. It is...disconcerting. She offers us refreshments, alcohol and something that I believe is a controlled substance. We decline, naturally. I don't know what it is about her made her prescence very felt. Very fine clothes, jewellery worth more than many of the people's outside thsi room's wages for three years scattered over her body like it was nothing. Vivid purple eyes seemed to be able to measure you up rather quickly and it certainly gave the impression that we should not - under any circumstances - screw her over. She hasn't been anything but polite to us but there is a dangerous weight to the gestures that would not be found elsewhere.
 
Alina discussed theory with us for a while, thinking that the operation will be sprawling and unlikely to be in Highwalls but will be squirrelled away somewhere out the way. It makes it somewhat easier to strike off places where they could be. Large places relatively near Highwalls that would be unnoticed are in somewhat limited supply, unless you start looking in the Cogs.
 
Ultimately, she wants the dragonshards that she believes are being used in the process. This was the job Terfel's friends were originally working on before we arrived and before Jode and the thief ended up dead in the sewer. We agree and head back down to Highwalls. It is relatively without incident but Terfel is now asking with Terel about any places that he could think of. Hopefully, Terel can think of something that can assist.