Our heroes were hungry for information about the attempt on their life. All that was left on the would-be killer's corpse was a signet ring and a bent gold coin. Fortunately,
Carris Whismael was able to provide some information about both objects. Our party decided to start with the coin and set about contacting the
League of Shadows before exploring the city archives for more information regarding the signet ring.
The Bent Coin
Thus far, only one of our heroes (
Anraed Maethmag) had consorted with the League, and his attendance to that meeting was
not his choice. Carris explained how to voluntarily contact the League:
The doyen of the League has a flair for the dramatic, so you'll have to follow his charade to contact them. First, you have to go to the Happy Orc, a tavern located near the slums. Once there, you have to order the Cat's Paws. This drink isn't on the menu. The barkeep will bring you a dark mixture of liquor, and someone will approach you, remarking "Have you ever seen a drink so black?". You must respond--word for word--"A blackness matched only by a dagger in the night". Edgy, I know, but you have to play by their rules or risk trouble.
When the heroes arrived at the tavern, they quickly ascertained that most patrons were hiding weapons under their cloaks. They cautiously followed the ritual as Carris described and as a reward were led by the agent to a meeting room in the back. The Handler, the same mysterious woman who assigns contracts to Anraed, was seated at a table, idly picking at her fingernails with a dagger. Our heroes elected to skip the small talk and dropped the coin on the table, describing the harrowing night the assassin attacked. The Handler's playful demeanor melted away and she apologized on behalf of the entire League, saying that assassinations are one of the few services that they refuse to provide to any customers, no matter the price. She promised to set up a meeting with the
Shadowmaster, doyen of the League of Shadows.
The Estate of Baron Countington
A mysterious letter appeared at Carris's house, addressed to our heroes. Within, the party found an invitation to the estate of a certain Baron Countington's soiree that was to happen that evening. After tending to some business (and acquiring finer threads), the heroes elected to stop by the party. They had to mingle with some insufferable guests who recognized them due to their involvement with the Mad Gold Dragon Incident before a servant led them to the basement, where the Shadowmaster awaited them.
True to his name, the Shadowmaster refused to lower the hood of his cloak and stood in the darkest corner of the cellar, which was paradoxically the one closest to the door. He apologized on behalf of the guild and assured them that any member of the League who accepts a murder contract is swiftly--and brutally--excommunicated. He identified the assassin as a certain Mad Dog Renn, who was affiliated with the League while he was alive, and provided a list of his known (and unknown) associates as well as his usual haunts. The Shadowmaster recommended that they investigate Mad Dog's favorite dog fighting ring and ask for Jowls. Surprisingly, the Shadowmaster then convinced our heroes to stay at Baron Countington's miserable affair for a few moments longer, promising that things were about to get interesting.
Sure enough, moments after the party returned to the ballroom, a huffing and bristling Baron Countington barged through the door, shouting about some no-good half-pint thief who had robbed him blind. The next day, the rumor mill was abuzz with the story of the intrepid thief who managed to clear the entirety of Baron Countington's treasury while he hosted a party. Supposedly, the burglar delayed his escape until Baron Countington entered the vault and then shouted "Oink oink, you capitalist pig! Enjoy these scraps like the rest of us." All that remained in the vault was a handful of chicken bones, picked clean of any meat.
Jowls
Dog fighting is highly illegal in
Vern, and the ring recommended by the Shadowmaster was filled with villainous scum. Our heroes were immediately on edge as soon as they entered, and the patrons reacted similarly as our heroes were certainly not regulars. Jowls was easy enough to pick out from the crowd, with his distinctly weak chin and saggy cheeks. He was understandably standoffish--until the party mentioned the assassination. He mentioned that someone new visited the establishment two weeks ago and stuck out like a sore thumb. His demeanor reeked of nobility and his shock-red hair could be seen a mile away. He also had a wicked scar that went from chin to ear. It seemed likely that this was
The Red-Haired Man with the Scar who they were tracking. They thanked Jowls for complying with their investigation, left the den of thieves, and subsequently informed the city guard about the ring.
The Ring
Confirming that the assassin was sent by the Red-Haired Man was helpful, but did not provide any actionable intelligence. This led our heroes to turn their attention to the signet ring. To try and determine to which house the signet ring belonged to, our heroes scoured the bureaucratic archives of
Vern. However, their search turned up limited leads. A librarian commented that their records were unfortunately incomplete, as many records regarding old noble houses were destroyed during the
Iris Rebellion. Our heroes informed Carris of the disappointing results of their search, and he recommended that our heroes reach out to one of his contacts,
Neremin Ianfaren, an eccentric old gnome with a knack for collecting old and rare books, as Neremin may have some relevant records.
Neremin's Request
After meeting with Neremin, our heroes agreed with Carris's description. Neremin welcomed the party into his old house and they were greeted with the smell of old paper. Every inch of the house's wall space was covered in bookshelves. Neremin boasted that his library of books was comparable in size to the archives of the
Spellweavers' Circle.
Our heroes cut to the chase and asked if he had any records on noble houses from before the Rebellion. Neremin was excited to flaunt his collection, but was a firm believer that no knowledge should be given for free. He asked our heroes to track down a particularly rare (and dangerous) spellbook in possession of some cultists that he had tracked to an abandoned manor. Given the sensitive nature of the book's contents, he was in direct competition with the Spellweavers' Circle to obtain the book first. According to Neremin, if the Circle were to obtain the book, they would likely destroy it without a second thought--and it is unconscionable to destroy knowledge, no matter how dangerous it could be. Our heroes agreed to his terms.
The cultists had repurposed a collapsing manor to serve as their base of operations. Although the castle's southern wall was crumbling with age, the new residents had erected a palisade to fill the gap and permanently sealed the front portcullis. Our heroes quickly dispatched the cultists and the fire elemental on guard. The party encountered two fire elementals on the first floor, as well as piles of ashes where any furniture may have stood. As our heroes entered the basement, they interrupted a ritual meant to bind a fire elemental within a summoning circle. After dispatching the cultists the heroes banished the elemental.
With the basement purged, our heroes ventured upstairs to the library. As soon as they entered the room, books began to fly off of the walls--and into their faces. The cult leader had summoned an air elemental to harry our heroes as the leader tried to escape. The two were quickly defeated, leaving the party in a mostly disheveled library. On the cultist's body they discovered a likely candidate for the forbidden spellbook. As soon as they looked at the pages their eyes itched and burned in response to the infernal text. Rather than let all the knowledge bound within the tomes of the library languish forgotten, the party opened their Bag of Holding and took the entire library with them.
Conclusion
Neremin was ecstatic to receive the book and confessed that he could not read it himself., but the book would be safe in his collection. He allowed our heroes free reign of his impressive library, and our heroes researched all the forgotten nobles. In a couple of days, they found a book filled with the signets of each noble house and matched the ring to a noble house:
Kolanos.
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