Session VII: Factual Inconsistency

15 Resting, 1304 AM

  With the rest of the party presumably at the Builder's Arms, Malgrim left the company of the dwarven brewer-monks at the Diplomat's Refuge and started to head towards them. On the way, he saw a couple of establishments, including the Elven Kiss, that were guarded by visibly armed men and women. They were not dressed in anything identifying. Once linked up with the party, they decided to go to Cresthall. Except Caerlin, who instead went to the Gahal Sun-Temple to cure a cold.   On the way to the Society's building, a discussion about methodology was had, mainly between Honest Malgrim and the others. The monk's refusal to lie under any circumstance was considered a problem by the group, and Del'Gado sought to resolve this by simply removing his ability to hear. More specifically, he bought a load of beeswax which he fashioned into earplugs. Telling Malgrim to smile and wave, they now felt comfortable entering Cresthall without jeopardising their allegiances. Imaros and Malgrim entered first, going to the Gold Star changing room, where Malgrim used his staff to detect magic, but there was none to be found. Simultaneously, Imaros was looking for a thematic and visually-pleasing shirt, but was eventually greeted by Michelle, who was a bit surprised that he was in this early on a weekend. They spent a good fifteen minutes practising their singing, and Michelle noted the satyr's skill.   Shortly after Imaros and Malgrim had entered, Del'Gado and Jacqualine walked into the building. Since there apparently were no other actors or employees in the western wing, Del'Gado skilfully picked the lock to Enkitan's office. Initially, the only thing of note he found was an annotated book on Akkon's nobility, with a focus on the ad-kure nobility. Later, with Jacqualine's help, he also manages to break into a locked drawer, wherein he found a number of suspicious-but-not-quite-suspicious-enough-to-indict-someone-in-a-court-of-law-letters. One of the letters seemed to have come from the Gloomlight Forest, signed Sariesh, a name that Del'Gado recognised as a very common Akkonian female name. There was also a note that spoke of Kutavor, the crownland's prison for indebted. He took note of the notes, locked the drawer, but as he was about to leave someone opened the door to the western wing. It was Enkitan, and thinking quickly, Jacqualine rushes to pester him, with the intent to stall, with a sad story of how Maskim, Del'Gado's alias, has gone missing, but Enkitan reiterates numerous times that he first wishes to drop off some things in his office. Jacqualine even tried to use a spell to stall him for longer, but he seemed unaffected (and slightly concerned) about it, and hastily went for his office after this. Immediately noticing that it was unlocked, he retrieved from his bag a stick-like artifact that was able to be extended into what looked like a sword. Armed, he slowly entered his office, where Del'Gado sold him a lie many times taller than himself. He accused Becaryn, Jacqualine's alias, of obsessive, deranged, and unhinged behaviour, and the reason he broke into Enkitan's office was to hide from her. This seemed to convince Enkitan, but he was somewhat dismissive of the suggestion that Maskim could ever learn to lockpick such a complex lock from an upbringing in a theatre. The conversation later took a turn, and Enkitan asked Del'Gado what he thought of the current state of affairs in the country. After giving a satisfactory negative answer, he starts to make some allusions as to what his real purpose in the Society is, and entrusts Del'Gado with a future role as a messenger - what this means, we can likely never know. After this, he expelled Becaryn from Cresthall.   Meanwhile, Michelle had led Imaros and Malgrim to her office, where she conducted a 'teambuilding' exercise: they all shared something, in confidence, that was harmful to their careers. Michelle believes the king to be an honourable and good man - she clarified that this was quite an unpopular thought amongst her peers. Imaros said that he believed ice cream was too cold; he later amended this by revealing his involvement in the Heshoo. Malgrim, taking out his earplugs, expressed a thought anathema to all dwarvenkind: that elves don't mind him that much. Before he could insert his earplugs again, Imaros blurted out something about him not speaking the truth, which Michelle latched on to; eventually, she learned from both Malgrim and Imaros of their previous involvement with the king and their assignment to the Gloomlight Forest. However, miraculously, the singer-propagandist managed to conceal the fact that they still work for him. When this was done, Michelle asked that they follow her, and they coincidentally ran into Enkitan and Del'Gado in the reception. Enkitan immediately recognised Imaros, they had a brief discussion, and Michelle noted that Imaros was called 'Imaros,' and not 'Del'Gado,' the name that he had been using. Whispering something to Enkitan, she asked where Becaryn had gone, and upon learning that she had been expelled, made a futile attempt to search for her.   Still, whilst Michelle was out searching, Enkitan led the group back to his office, where he more actively interrogated Imaros. He explained that he had gone to great lengths to remove himself from the Heshoo's claws, and asked if he was there on their orders: Imaros told him the truth. He was not. Nevertheless, several alarms seemed to now have activated for him, and he began a line of questioning directed at both Imaros and Del'Gado. He asked if the two knew one another, since they both auditioned within thirty minutes; Imaros said that he followed his friend to audition. This answer did not hold up: the only other person to have auditioned yesterday was Del'Gado, and he denied ever having seen that man in his life. Enkitan made it abundantly clear that he found this all very suspicious, and after Michelle requested that Imaros tell him about his connection to the king, the level of suspicion was raised further. However, his suspicions temporarily subsided after hearing some of the details that Imaros recapitulated about his royal mission to the Gloomlight; specifically, the parts where hobgoblins were mentioned. The former informant shifted focus entirely: according to him, no hobgoblins should have been there. He and Michelle exchange a few words, after which he openly declares that he oversees the small-scale organisation of armed resistance around Akk-Ur, and the Gloomlight cell was supposed to only contain humans. He speculates that his main contact and financier, the Academic, is responsible for this subversion. Enkitan describes the Academic as a well-educated and knowledgeable man who also seems to be a source of limitless wealth. He believes him to be a member of the Elysian Court. Ultimately, he asks the party to investigate him, and sets up a meeting next night at Kurigalzu's Garden, at Amminar's Point. The two Curators make it very clear that so much as a careless whisper about the Society's activities will result in them disappearing for good, which is a threat in and of itself.   Now, we turn to Jacqualine, who had at this point returned to the Builder's Arms. She found Varkallin, but not Mira, at the usual location, and inquired about the interview. It seemed to have gone without a hitch, and Shala was apparently very talkative during her introduction at court. Jacqualine remarked that this was unexpected given recent events, and Varkallin agreed; "it's like she's a different person." Still, she divulged something that she was told by Shala: that the party's appointment as Twilight Advocates was preceded by a close vote in the Elysian Court, 16-15, where mobad Tamzi, the court chaplain, acted as tiebreaker. Varkallin attributes this close result to racism, since none of the Twilight Advocates are human (and Caerlin was an unknown variable at the time). Finally, Jacqualine asks for something that can alter her appearance, as her spiel as an adoring fan had compromised her at the Society of the Red Mask. Varkallin promised to look into this.