Much of the morning was spent talking Chari through a bout of nihilism brought on by the previous day's adventures. Existential crisis averted, the party headed to the Gilded Quarter. Upon securing an audience with the
Knight-Commander, they set about very diplomatically informing the head of the
Ivory Order of Faith what precisely had transpired below the city. They also provided her with a few well-received and helpful suggestions of how to do her job, including posting a scout at the entrance of the cultists' smuggling tunnel.
Bartleby ushered the group out of the building while the party debated their next course of action. Deciding they might kill two birds with one stone, theyheaded down to the docks to do some reconnaissance. While Chari won friends and influenced people, Jinn and Bartleby gathered information on the mysterious red-haired elf who had purchased the missing lute from Hiuda's Sorcerous Oddities. After learning the buyer would be leaving in two days' time, they went to investigate the cultists' smuggling operation. Upon careful analysis of the area, Jinn determined there were still at least two cultists left in the city.
With a fresh lead on the lute, the party headed to the Silver Axe in the hopes of intercepting the elf known as
Galadon. After a bit of a scuffle he revealed that Elana, who had posted the notice, was not the lute's owner, but rather he had been hired to recover it from her. Dissatisfied with this answer (and his morally objectionable methods of retrieval), Jinn and Bart made for Elana at the Blue Rose. Upon questioning the woman, it became clear that Galadon had been telling the truth. The young entertainer had stolen the lute from a wizard named
Aerolus, but did not realize its true value.
Meanwhile, Chari, determined to do good, decided to take matters into her own hands and remove a dangerous person from Cardale. After knocking the man out, the young monk purchased and placed him in a coffin, and paid a crew of sailors to deliver him to Nightburne—failing to realize he probably would not make it that far. Upon learning what Chari had done, Jinn raced to the docks to find and rescue Galadon from his assuredly briny fate. When the man regained consciousness Jinn advised he leave town rather than risk another encounter with the girl.
Roughly a week later, a wounded
Vessa Rosefall startled Jinn in the street, confirming that whoever they were looking for really weren't nice people.
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