Session 13

General Summary

The party stormed out of the Ambassadors' Ball having agreed to White Falcon, Radislav's terms, at least for the time being. Before leaving, Ludwig asked Tekin, Timur to set up a breakfast meeting with Hammett, Talwyn at the Far Traveler for the next day. Then, determined to get the jump on the real assassin, the group split up to begin their investigation that night.
Mrek went straight to the temple of Aru in the market square, where a sleepy acolyte was intimidated into waking Akerlind, Marta. She heard Mrek's story and agreed that the next day after breakfast, she would first question the entire party within a zone of truth, then assuming their story checked out, cast speak with dead on Prince Madoc's body.
Ludwig went to the Midmarean delegation at the Well-Founded Sailor and talked his way past both the bartender, who hates him, and the Blackhearts. (A Blackheart named Kirken recognized Ludwig from the psychic porcupine trip and vouched for him.) Ludwig searched Prince Madoc's room, but found nothing of interest; it had been well cleaned since any poisoning occurred. He also questioned Kirken, who was present in the kitchen when Madoc's lunch was prepared. He learned that Timur and Talwyn had come in the morning but left well before lunch, that Madoc felt ill after lunch but insisted on attending the Ball anyway, and—after casting detect thoughts because he felt Kirken was holding back information—that while lunch was being prepared, Kirken heard a disembodied whistling.
Feng headed for the western gate of Volscia Mera, the only one kept open at night. He climbed atop the guardhouse by way of some nearby buildings, evaded notice by the many guards, and kept watch all night. Nobody tried to leave, and only one new arrival appeared at about 3 am, two old merchants with a cart of market goods.
Slint and Kairon kept watch at the harbor. They met a dockworker who told them he liked to work the night shift because it gave him plenty of time to work on his poetry, which he shared some of and which was terrible. He also told them that the only excitement that night was from the Midmareans, who made multiple trips back and forth between their three ships: the Huntress Queen, Midnight Candle, and Flying Stag. He hadn't seen any individuals come or go. They spent the rest of the night hidden and watching the slips for small craft, but saw nobody.
The next day, Slint and Kairon returned to the harbor to speak with the dockmaster before breakfast. He showed them the logs for small craft; none had left recently, but on Thursday a small sailboat called the Godsong came in. The log didn't show a name for the owner; the harbormaster blamed his assistant, a halfling named Thomas.
At breakfast, the party found Talwyn Hammett to be beautiful and intelligent. She wore a lilac "breakfast dress" that brought out the purple of her eyes. First, she told the group about her relationship with Prince Madoc. He was sponsoring her new symphony, her fifth, called The Four Keys. She and Timur had gone to the Well-Founded Sailor the morning of the 26th to play four themes for Madoc, representing the four movements of the symphony. These were...

1. Allegro in A Minor: "The Wind Moves the Clouds"
2. Adagio in E Major: "The Bounty of the Earth"
3. Scherzo in F Minor: "Flames in the Mountain"
4. Rondo in D Major: "Waves Dance through the Sunken City"

Intrigued by the word "keys," Feng asked if Talwyn knew the word namzaqu. She was surprised and confused: the word felt familiar, but she couldn't place it—perhaps she'd read it in a book, heard it in a song, or dreamed it...?
Next, Talwyn told them of a strange occurrence at her premiere on the 25th. She'd looked out into the audience before the curtain rose and saw a strange figure right in the center: a tall, thin man wrapped entirely in bandages, wearing a top hat and tailcoat. Something about the man—she couldn't say what—both distressed and obsessed her. Timur confirmed that she was agitated during the premiere, though he avowed that the performance was perfect (luckily, Talwyn wasn't conducting). After the concert, Talwyn rushed to the bandaged man's seat; he was gone, but she found a note left behind: Meet at GT Monday midnight. She hurried out to the street and caught a glimpse of the bandaged man, but was swamped by admirers. He seemed to be heading for the docks, and she heard him whistling the main theme from that night's symphony. Slint asked who had been sitting with the bandaged man; Talwyn wasn't sure, but she remembered a blonde woman and a strong man on either side of the mysterious stranger.
The group picked up Bishop Akerlind at the temple and submitted to her zone of truth, satisfying her that they had nothing to do with the murder. They also asked her if she knew of anywhere in the city that could produce midnight tears, including Slint's favorite potion shop, but she felt that place was too respectable and didn't know of any others.
The group set out for the Well-Founded Sailor; Feng split off to see Talwyn in her garrett at the very top of the Far Traveler, a hot attic room filled with the composer's meager possessions. He grilled her further on the question of her new symphony and found that she had been inspired upon waking from a dream; the name "The Four Keys" and the four melodies were in her head.
At the Well-Founded Sailor, the party gained admission to Madoc's deathbed and the bishop cast her spell. They asked Madoc five questions:

1. Who is the bandaged man who whistles? A mystery.
2. Who are your enemies? Those who deny the light of Aru.
3. Why were you sponsoring Talwyn Hammett's new symphony? She sings the song of Aru.
4. ...?
5. What do you know of the namzaqu? Keys to the Interment Gates.

Afterward, Ludwig spoke again to Kirken. The Blackheart confirmed that the whistling he'd heard was the theme from Hammett's fourth that the bandaged man was whistling after the concert. This solidified in the party's mind that the bandaged man had entered the kitchen, invisible, and poisoned Madoc's food with midnight tears. The issue now was to find him. Mrek began to grill Princess Trenowden, Chesten about "GT," asking if she knew anywhere in Volscia Mera with those initials. When he suggested "Gargantuan Tower," Kirken spoke up: "You mean the Green Tower?" Mrek said he did, and Kirken elaborated: he had been there just the other day for something to help with his intimate softness. It transpired that the Green Tower was a low-class apothecary and alchemist in a bad neighborhood near the northern gate.
The party geared up and set out for the Green Tower. On the way, Feng visited Talwyn Hammett one more time. He asked her about the themes of her previous symphonies and whether the entire canon were called Godsong. She didn't know the term, but told him about her inspirations:

1. Midmare, her homeland, "a student work"
2. A lighter symphony, inspired by her time at Stagmount
3. The Great War
4. The Gargantuan, begun after Forked Crossings
5. The Four Keys

He gave her 50 gp and told her that she was in danger. She felt an innate trust for the yak-man, and didn't seem to mind his smell, so she agreed to come with him to stay safe. Her plan had been to stay in Volscia Mera for a few more weeks, giving master classes and workshops at the concert hall, then to set out for Stagmount (her alma mater) where she would be teaching classes over the summer. Feng convinced her to leave with them for Quedra on the Blind Charmer so he could keep her close...

Report Date

08 Jul 2019