Session 16: Digging into it.

General Summary

Upon arriving at the home of the Blackwood family, both Ernesto and Gertrude climbed up the balcony to meet up with Fiera who is set to marry Leandros Stillcrest. Though initially their impression was not the best, they managed to keep the terrified woman from screaming and convinced her to discuss her wedding to the Stillcrest family. There they learned that not was Fiera slightly unsure and taking comfort in Leandros' rank as a testament to his character, but also that she hardly knew the man at all! And digging into these insecurities, the two managed to have Fiera not only seek to delay the wedding but seek in her father's study any proof that there is more to this wedding than meets the eye.   The two then proceeded to leave and upon reaching the ground level, they realized that neither Meria nor the two children were anywhere in sight. Regardless, the next steps to them were obvious, sneaking out and around the Digs to make sure they could make it to the Stillcrest home. However, when getting out they soon found out that patrols were increased and they were purposefully looking at for the two.   With Ernesto's quick thinking, he created a distraction for the guards through a clever use of Prestidigitation. Before long the guards gathered at an intersection past the gates permitting Gertrude to pass through and thereafter Ernesto as well.   As they approached the house, they begun hearing the sounds of a discussion from within it. Together they listened in and then, while Gertrude stood watch, Ernesto sought to sneak around inspect the sons' bedrooms. In the first bedroom, Ernesto looked around and found a pouch with a few poison herbs and a dagger. Ernesto then sneakily made it to the next room and there he attempted to rife through the papers left on the small desk but found nothing. However, he did find a lockbox under the bed. Retrieving it though, did not happen quietly.    Gertrude in the meantime was listening in to the conversation. She saw the older man, clearly the head of the Stillcrest family argue with a younger man dressed up in ceremonial armor, no doubt Leandros, the captain of the Digs' guard. She heard them discussing how he said he would have had the Bucklebee girl handled and yet here she was again and how he had failed. Leandros by his hand said that it was only a matter of time now that they knew where she was until she was handled for good. Then a younger man came, stating that he was fairly confident that he could handle the Bucklebees, if their father would change the wedding arrangements from Leandros' towards him instead. The young man was clearly confident, though there was something quite unsettling about how confident he seemed despite his much younger and diminutive appearance.   Then there was a noise and Gertrude took off. She found Ernesto on the outside with the stolen lockbox but sadly he'd pretty much crashed through the wooden cover. They immediately set out and did not wait to see if they came after them or not. Ducking in behind buildings, they saw as the Stillcrests came out and sounded the alarm, screaming for the heads of the thieves who made it out in the night. However, the alarms being sounded and the screams attracted the attention of the populace which took the opportunity to break the curfew and leave their homes to see what was happening. In the confusion, Meria reconvened with Ernesto and Gertrude and without wasting a moment, she brought them back to the Bucklebee burrow and pushed them inside before they were caught.