Session 2 - Kobold or Go Home

Back at the guard house the group were introduced to a black dragonborn named Nishigi who acted as a necro-interrogator, a state-ordained necromancer who can interrogate the dead. This process involves a lot of paperwork and red tape. Nishigi greatly enjoys her work and is generally thoroughly creepy. Since Nishigi needed time to sort out paperwork permission to interrogate the corpse of Sparklefinger Mox, the group killed some time exploring the Star Market district and shopping. Notably they visited Moru's Marvellous Magical Emporium to browse his ragtag stock, and he was able to lift the curse from the Headband of Intellect for a fee, allowing Yunhu to wear it unhindered. They also bought some books from Pay-Per-Paper and were introduced to the enigmatic Z Brothers, an alchemist and pawnbroker of art objects. There were several taverns around the district but the group opted to settle in The Thirsty Wyrm, a mid-range tavern that was less raucous than most. Tera has her own apartment in a district closer to Lotus Rose but not too far away, so she travelled there to rest. The next day the group returned to the guard house, and Nishigi invited the group to interrogate the deceased Sparklefinger Mox. The party asked Mox who gave them the Headband of Intellect which increased their intelligence, and Mox stated that it was someone called Mujina. They had to visit Mujina regularly as a sign of loyalty, and in order to be healed from the damage the headband caused to the wearer. In the interrogation, the party learned of a place Mox met up with this Mujina, and that Mujina 'wears a different face' every time Mox sees them. They asked Mox what the purpose was of stealing the drakes, and it was revealed that the drakes were stolen to aid the cause of 're-birth' as drakes 'come from nothing'. The thing to be re-born was the 'one who waits, the creator, mother, ruler and tyrant'. It was at this point that Shinzu stated that in Elven lore, before the city of Thousand Houses came to be there were four ruling Houses (Golden Sun, Lotus Rose, Iron Spine, Umbral Key) which united to fight against an ancient foe. However any further details are unknown, as it is believed that even talking about what they fought against invokes it.

The group, along with Nishigi as they were acting on behalf of the guards, followed the clues to Mujina's hideout, but as they drew closer they realised the building had been set ablaze. They ran towards it before the evidence burned down but were intercepted by several fire creatures that they had to fight. Once the path was cleared they entered the burning house, although Shinzu was especially reluctant because she has great survival instincts. There were screams from upstairs; those that investigated saw a terrified-looking woman chained to an iron bed begging to be freed. When Kyto tried however his fingers passed right through her. The illusionary woman then smirked and says 'made you wait' before vanishing. Within the house there were several weird books on combination necromancy-transmutation which were later given to Nishigi to study. They also found a note, stating:

M- Mox has been compromised, necro-interrogation imminent. Evacuate South Star lab with emergency precautions. -R

And a journal in different handwriting:

Subject 12 - 10 minutes old, asphyxiation. Subject 16 - 1 hour life, clawed out own stomach. (Some of the pages are missing, possibly torn out). Subject 32 - Enduring if ugly, progress. Kobold scales aren't good enough, need to use other materials. Subject 33 - (This entry is blank).

As the group attempted to leave the building, the floor collapsed bit by bit, and the group eventually fell through (or jumped down the holes) into the basement, where they were confronted with a terrifying abomination. The abomination almost killed Lun but the group were able to defeat it and flee the burning building with as much evidence as they could get. Outside the group encountered Ninna who said she would get more guards and ran off. However a minute later Ninna ran towards the group asking what happened, and the group realised the first Ninna was likely the face-changing villain Mujina. The likeness was so complete that the party had no idea, this unsettled them as the face changer could be anyone. They agreed on a 'doppelganger password' they could ask each other to establish if it was really them or a fake and agreed on the word "fuckweasels". On bringing this up the real Ninna paled. She explained that the other emergency the guards were dealing at the moment with was an attempted assassination of Tsun-Riu, heir to the throne of the House of the Golden Sun, and the assassin was a face changer. The group also learned that the bodyguards to house Golden Sun were the Dawnsworn, a minor vassal house and martial arts masters, who were conducting their own investigation into the now-dead assassins. The session ended there...