Codename: Sleeping Alley, Report the Seventh

General Summary

We met the Alley Sleepers in the sheltered carapace of danger, having just solved "how to ethically murder a tree" puzzle. Yes, Ever--the ancient oak tree in Endoak--is no more. Time now to report back to "Porter" and get more information about the demise of the Brass Lamb cell Clownrose Dive and its operatives.
But, before all that, a rest is in order. So it is back to Leanfields and to Phoban's Rest, where our heroes regaled Cloud with news of Ever's death and probable rebirth. This is sure, however, to bring some Alerki Ascendency heat down on Riverskint, though. But not tonight! Sometime during the night, though, Hama vu Farlight did some Hama shit and left the group to go "commune with the stars." Typical.
Oh, and it turns out that Reita missed out on all the hot tree action because she had to meet with one Arkkarad , a member of her temple. This meeting took place at The Puzzled Man, a strange tavern in Gyllcross. Apparently, some folks at Deneir's Refuge are aware that Reita is now "choosing sides." Some are in support of that. Some are not. Either way, she is being watched. Ark gives her a cryptic warning, couched in even more cryptic support, and a nicely feathered quill, and takes his leave. Presumably, Reita wandered around aimlessly burdened with this knowledge before meeting back up with the rest of the crew at Coin.
Our gang headed off to meet up with Porter, noticing a very much increased presence of both Rectifiers and The Manifest in the city as they entered the gates. Turns out that eliminating a tree that has somehow become a symbol of Ascendency prosperity might increase the threat level. Huh. More concerning, however, is the shackled person of Tolse Honorarrow, currently (and painfully) confined in a stockade right inside the Lean Gate. She definitely sees our morons, and gives them a look that is a mixture of anger, betrayal, and sadness. So she's in Ascendancy custody and knows about the Sleepers' role in Operation: NitreName (see Codename: Sleeping Alley, Report the Second). I'm sure that's probably fine, right?
Porter arranged to meet our crew at an after-hours fishmarket called, creatively, The Salty Fish, so the Sleepers had some time to kill. Svo'Kool sought out some sheet music for his Bard-in-a-Box, finding that and more at The Handsome Lute up in Gnet's Line. The halfling proprietress, Yesola, hearing Svo'Kool's entirely ignorant attempt at a Lamb passcode, realizes he is somehow connected to the organization and gives him a passcode sheet along with sheet music for "Potato Soup for the Soul," which is a rousing little ditty.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Sleepers decided to take a cursory look at whatever is going on in Gravick. Turns out, there's a lot going on! Namely, a massive hole, discussion of all kinds of dead duergar, weird dirt piled around said massive hole, and just a bunch of security. Our heroes couldn't quite get close enough to glean more than that, but there's something strange there, for sure.
Finally, it was time to meet Porter. On the way to do so, however, another dreaded encounter with otyugh occurred. This time, however, the Sleepers got the best of the many-mouthed monster, putting it down for good. Nice!
In between the fish flying everywhere at this market, Porter let them in on some of his knowledge vis a vis Clownrose Dive. Lyric Witch, apparently, fucked off for [...], laying low somewhere in those ruins. Bend Card made for the docks of Sallow, bound for parts unknown. Perhaps most importantly, Dizzy Biscuit is being held at some offsite interrogation center somewhere in the city. Porter had some ideas about how to go about finding her, but it is going to need more Lamb power. Our heroes will have to seek out assistance from either Pale Bell, a cell not know for its subtlety, or Mad Spine, a cell who prefers finesse. For reasons Porter won't get into, these cells WILL NOT work together. But, perhaps, there's a way to make amends?
While our gang was coming to grips with that, Hispip, the gnome to whom Grex owed a favor, summoned him to repay said favor, entreating him to bring his friends. Apparently, Rieta is Grex's only friend, as Svo'Kool and Aletha decided to go to the casino rather than help Grex.
The favor involved Grex and Rieta fighting a goddamn devil, which could have gone real bad except that they proved more than capable of dispatching it. Hispip was about to thank them when he was promptly abducted by a demon. He must have been into some hinky shit.
The casino trip went a little better, with Svo'Kool using Aletha to sneak into the Siren Song Casino and win a good bit of coin.
Far be it from your humble chronicler to editorialize, but Svo'Kool was in prime scumbum mode, bullying Rieta into giving him her share of the gold found in the otyugh's innards so he could "triple it," and then just not giving anything back when he won. Just truly some pinnacle shitbag work on Svo'Kool's part.
Having killed a devil (and perhaps killed fledgling friendships for Svo'Kool) our gang decided to visit The Narrow Cod, a tavern in Sallow, to seek out MadSpine. And they found them--a fast-talking halfelf named Bleaker, an old woman who seems perpetually sad named Rosebreak, and a human man who exudes nobility named Complicated. After confirming their Lamb status, they suggested they better tell them what they wanted right away.
And that's where we left it. We'll see what, exactly, the Sleepers want during our next session.

Character(s) interacted with

"Porter" 
Tolse Honorarrow
Yesola, owner of The Handsome Lute
Hispip
Bleaker, a member of Mad Spine
Rosebreak, a member of Mad Spine
Complicated, a member of Mad Spine

Report Date

25 Oct 2020

Primary Location

Riverskint