Adventure Three, Session Nine

INT. THE DOUBTFUL - EARLY MORNING
After the events in the tunnels below the Scaly Dog, the party regrouped aboard The Doubtful to plan their next move. Now having magically spied upon the "junior" members of "The Eye," they were armed with a few useful items. First, they deduced that Xaxmenethan doesn't know the identity of any member of The Club Masters, and he desperately wants to be accepted into their organization. Further, after claiming the head of Garvistan, thus eliminating his competition, the beholder felt that he would soon be visited by a Club Master, tasked with inducting him. Finally, they learned that Ruuthias, the slimy right-hand man to Xaxmenethan, had lost a particular personal item: some sort of stone that either brought him power, or even possibly kept him going (alive).
After changing into their nicest clothes, the party broke into two groups, one set off to "The Gilded Anchor" (the crime syndicate's gambling spot) while the other (consisting of Teffa - as a horse, Sendry and Warren) went to a place Dreeva Vaeless recommended to acquire more appropriate clothes. For it seemed that the party decided that Warren would pose as the visiting Club Master, while the others would act as his henchmen (and women).
Dreeva recommended a place called "The Mighty Needle," but the three dispatched there found it closed when they arrived (at 6:30 in the morning, that is). They noticed the building seemed to have a domicile above the store proper, and they deduced that the proprietor lived above it. Using a Mage Hand, they knocked on the window. The sleepy owner, Isemere, answered. After a bit of price haggling, he allowed them in. Here they settled on outfits for both Sendry and Warren and basically spent all their remaining money.
INT/EXT. THE GILDED ANCHOR - MORNING
The first wave of the party arrived at the gambling hall concurrent with the splinter group reaching the tailor. The front doors of the Gilded Anchor were guarded by two Urtulan (Half Orcs), who demanded the PCs surrender their weapons at the front desk within. The party proceeded inside and made it to the reception desk, where a lovely half-elven woman greeted them (and took their weapons). Here, the group announced that they were wishing to secure a private room for themselves and their "boss," a "very important man who wishes to keep a low profile." After a bit of awkward back-and-forth, the party is obliged by the receptionist, and she sends for someone to escort them to their room.
A moment later, a short man in a fancy suit approached them. The party quickly recognized him as one of the darklings from the Scaly Dog, simply dressed in finer clothes. This man seemed to be either Dargle or Bastriss, both mentioned by name by Ruuthias earlier, though the party was unsure as to which. The well-dressed darkling beckoned them to follow and led them through the main gambling hall towards their destination.
The main hall was quite larger than anticipated, with a vaulted ceiling and an expansive open floor covering quite a bit of real estate. Walking past this, their escort took them down a private hall towards a door set in the far wall. This was to be their room. He unlocked it and allowed them entry, while taking any requests from them. Once again, they reiterated their stance as servants to a quite dangerous and secretive VIP, and requested for him, upon his eventual arrival, to be escorted to the private room via some "rear entrance" or other clandestine means. After more back-and-forth, the darkling agreed to take good and special care of their boss. Finally, the party made it clear that their boss would like a word with Xaxmenethan himself. The darkling didn't have much to say about this, but simply bowed. Upon his exit, complimentary drinks were delivered by a woman wearing a suit made partially of solid gold, and a matching mask that completely obscured her face.
Shortly after this, the splinter group finally arrived, and were themselves escorted by the same darkling back to the private room. Now the party was once again complete, and the fake servants had their "Club Master" boss.
Not long after settling into their new room, Sendry stepped into the hall to see if they were being spied on. Further, Teffa cast Detect Magic in the room itself, and discovered a divination magic covering its walls. Using an Identify spell, Warren specifically determined that the walls were themselves imbued with a Detect Magic spell. This checks out, as all casinos typically use divination magic to watch out for arcane cheating.
In the hallway, Sendry noticed a man coming towards him. This man was slight and walked with a limp. A few more steps closer and he realized this man was actually Ruuthias. Ruuthias greeted Warren with a giant smile. He announced he was simply here to greet his special guests. After inviting himself into the private room, Ruuthias set about attempting to divine more information about the PC's and their desire to meet with his own boss, Xaxmenethan.
Warren, true to his role as the unyielding Club Master, refused to give much information. After some time, their tete a tete reached a stalemate, and Ruuthias agreed to leave them to their meals (the party requested dinner) and to take up the matter again later. Moments after his departure, their food arrived (gratis) from the kitchen. The party all partook of the fine meal and made plans to explore the main floor of the casino.
As the group eventually stepped out of their room to explore, Teffa transformed into a mouse, in an attempt to spy on individual tables. On the floor proper, the party quickly determined that the most nefarious elements seemed to be clustered around the high stakes tables in the center of the room. Teffa spied on them in mouse mode and overheard two men talking about a private gambling "underground" area.
The party approached the high stakes table, but once the buy in was announced (two thousand gold!) they decided to start out at a lower stakes table. They found a decent one with a few players present and a Deep Gnome croupier. They paid the buy in and played several hands of Dragon Poker. Teffa rejoined the card players, once again in half-drow form, and bought into one of the further hands.
Unfortunately, the party didn't make out extremely well at the table, however Mangy won the last hand (not a bad bit of platinum) and they collectively decided to quit while they were ahead. Around this time, they noticed Ruuthias watching them from the wings. The man hobbled over to them and quickly turned the conversation towards an offer. He asked if they'd wish to gamble on more "exciting" things. The party quickly deduced that he was referring to the underground (likely illegal) gambling area. They agreed to go with him, and he led them down the same hall that led to their private room. One of the other, nondescript doors along the hall ended up leading to a corridor that Ruuthias took the party down.
This corridor opened up into a wide hallway (20') with marbled columns extending upward to the stone ceiling. They traversed this hall until it reached a split. The party followed Ruuthias to the left, and they soon heard the sounds of battle! Upon approaching a balcony railing, they realized the truncated hall overlook a small gladiatorial pit. Down in the pit a bear-like creature, standing on two legs and wielding an axe, fought a deformed (Formian) giant. Warren suspected the bear to be a werebear, and certainly the creature met the requirements. It looked as if the bear was currently losing the fight.
Ruuthias explained that they could bet at any time, and anyone betting could aid their fighter of choice (or hinder his enemy) with magic, as long as it wasn't anything that directly "attacked" their opponent (such as a Magic Missile). The party announced (and bought in) that they were supporting the bear. Teffa then cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on the giant, and instantly the oversized creature fell into a fit of terrible noises (that could only barely be discerned as laughter). The bear-man used the sudden opportunity and drove his axe down into the giant's head, killing it.
The party was awarded their winnings, and the bear-man was led, at spearpoint, back into his cell. Teffa was outraged by this and lost control of herself, threatening Ruuthias to call off the captors. When he wouldn't (or couldn't) comply, she made to cast a spell upon him. But after failing, Mangy helped her regain her cool. Ruuthias only flashed his giant smile. He seemed to make a decision in that moment. "Come. I will take you to meet my master."
Perhaps the party had proven themselves worthy? In any case, they followed him back the way they came, until they reached the split in the hall. Now Ruuthias took them down the opposite way, which led to a set of double doors. He unlocked the doors and led them inside.
Within the room were piles and piles of gold and treasures. Nothing of insane value. More quantity over quality. Paintings, statues, works of art, gold and gem encrusted ephemera. Ruuthias allowed them to wander deeper into the room as he stayed back at the doors (essentially blocking them). Soon, from around the side of the tallest pile of treasure, emerged the floating orb himself... Xaxmenethan!
For the few that knew anything about beholders, Xaxmenethan seemed different than what they'd heard. Where most beholders have many eye stalks, this one only had four. Further, he seemed smaller than what they'd expected.
The creature greeted the party, seeming genuinely excited to meet them. Warren, in character, began to explain that Xaxmenethan had indeed drawn the attention of The Club Masters, and that he was here to induct the beholder into their ranks. Xaxmenthan was very happy, though somewhat confused. In fact, he seemed a bit "off" in general. He spoke with a raspy, excitable voice, very unlike the fearsome leader they expected. He changed subjects repeatedly, and seemed easily distracted. And his most pressing concern was that his "new friends" (the party) would "stay with him" after they concluded their business.
The party informed the crime boss that in order to complete his admittance into the Club Masters, they'd require the head of Garvistan. The beholder seemed happy to oblige. He floated back around the treasure pile and searched for what they requested. In his absence, the party watched Ruuthias, who seemed quite happy with the proceedings.
The beholder soon returned holding a head between two of its eye stalks (for some reason not using his native telekinesis). He placed the head before the party, and it was instantly revealed to be made of porcelain. Not to mention that it looked nothing like a half orc (which the late, lamented Garvistan used to be). As the party tried to determine what was going on, Xaxmenethan beckoned them in closer. He whispered that he didn't want Ruuthias to hear. Apparently Ruuthias always took his new friends away, never to be seen again. He didn't want this to happen with the PCs.
Then he said he had something that might help them stay. He had "the stone." The party realized the floating orb was referring to the mysterious "control stone" that apparently had some effect over Ruuthias. They told the crime boss that if he gave them the stone, they would indeed remain here as his friends. They managed to convey this without alerting Ruuthias to their plan.
The beholder excitedly agreed, and hastily flew back around the treasure pile to find the stone. The stone that may define the party's immediate destiny...