IWoS 3: Blades in the Night

General Summary

Still reeling somewhat from the fight that they had just endured, Plays for the Stars approaches Heather to talk about the "great victory" that they had just achieved, though Heather is of a different mind, commenting that it had simply been a hollow victory. In fact, when Stars denigrates the Stormcaller by saying that he is a coward, Heather says that he isn't, and that he is simply playing to his strengths. It is clear that they will reach no consensus, but in the end, Heather apologizes for what she said following the fight by the rift, admitting that sometimes she can be a bit of a jerk.   Blood on the Dawnflower dismounts from the carriage and has a conversation with Hadrea, curious as to the origin of her sled. She says that she bought it once from a merchant while she was staying in her cave at the Mounds of Efalta, and when asked why she holds on to it, she says that it's a remnant of her past, a reminder of something that she can't really go back to, now. Dawn asks her to share details about her past, but she is reluctant to do so. When pressed, she just says that she's keeping the sled because she likes it, and because she's fun, which Dawn finds a satisfactory answer.   One evening as the party is travelling along, Stars asks Dawn if he's ever considered taking on a more "feral" form and demonstrates by turning himself into a panther. Stars manages to convince Dawn to try it out and polymorphs him into a stormrider, after which Dawn attempts to communicate with Stormy Tempered, but is unable to do so. Dawn takes off and has a bit of fun high up in the sky before flying down and returning to the party, somewhat happy with himself when he turns back to his normal form.   Later the next day, the party comes to the realization that they will most likely come upon a major city, Astina in the evening, and the question of whether to stay in town or press on is raised. Ultimately, it is decided that it might be for the best to get a hot meal and sleep in a good bed, as the group has been traveling for some days, now. Stars is the biggest proponent for staying at Astina.   Dawn also has a conversation with Fatima ar'Assem, during which he pesters her in much the same way that he did Hadrea, but Fatima is far more unwilling to talk. He tells her that she should talk if she needs help, to which she responds that she'll keep it in mind.   That evening, the party rolls up to the city of Astina, and they decide to stay at the first inn that they come across, the Wainwright's Clamp. The sylvari innkeep, Malakh, welcomes them enthusiastically and imitates Stars' form. Seeing this, Dawn walks out while the rest of the group makes arrangements for an evening meal and rooms for the night. Heather also orders a certain drink, a bracing basqil, and though she says that she likes it, she does not ask for another.   When Dawn returns, he presses Kilian a'Nara for answers as to who he is or why he has shown up with the party at such a "convenient" time. Kilian answers that he is a cleric of the Stranger, and that he has come to the party because he was given a vision of them and their involvement in releasing the Necromancer from his prison. He states that he is there to help the party through their trials and tribulations because not only are they honor-bound to stop the Necromancer since he has been unleashed upon the world by their hand, but also because they are going to be assets in that fight.   When Dawn continues to press, asking after more personal details and staring at Kilian when he refuses to disclose anything, Kilian shuts the conversation down and stomps off to his room. Dawn states that he'd like to room with Kilian to stare at him through the whole night, but Heather states that Dawn will be rooming with her as they need to work on his Primordial.   Stars slinks away from the group and starts performing an evocative piece with the local minstrel, but unfortunately falls somewhat flat on his face as he fails to truly catch the attention of his audience. Nevertheless, he manages to charm enough people, including the innkeep Malakh, to manage to secure for the party a minor discount for their stay, although Malakh mentions that he'll have to take the matter up with the innkeep before he can commit to any amount. Stars also asks about Tan'Ayya, and Malakh says that he's heard that there's been a bit of chaos in the city and that, as a result, a curfew has been enforced.   Afterwards, the party retreats to their rooms, during which time Stars and Hadrea have a strange stretching session, with Stars commenting that he's not sure a headstand is a stretch and Hadrea replying that it stretches the neck. At the same time, Fatima goes to Kilian's room and has a brief conversation with him, asking about his faith and whether, in the Faith of the Nine, there is a concept of eternal damnation. Kilian reassures her that there is none, and that all souls are welcomed into the Stranger's embrace except for the most irredeemable, who go to oblivion. She asks him if children are included in that and he emphatically states that they are.   Following this, Fatima asks Kilian if she thinks that those souls are in a better place, and Kilian says that he believes that they are. Fatima thanks him for his reassurance and makes to go to bed, but Kilian asks her what her story is. In a surprisingly vulnerable moment, she tells him her story, though leaving out the tragedy of her family. He thanks her for sharing, and the two go to bed. As do the rest of the party.  

Assassins

The party is rudely awoken by assassins sneaking into their rooms in the dead of the night, but fortune turns the tide of battle against the assassins as the characters are able to rouse themselves before the assassins can do too much damage to them. During the scuffle, Stars animates the furniture in his and Hadrea's room, using the beds to bludgeon the assassin and pin him in place while Hadrea crippled him with her poisonous touch. Working in tandem, Heather and Dawn are able to quickly take care of their assailant while Kilian summons ethereal beings to help him and Fatima against theirs.   Once the assassin in his room is tied up with the beds and Hadrea, Stars checks on the others, rushing over first to Heather and Dawn's room, only to find that they have a good handle on the situation. Stars makes his way to Kilian's room but is caught up in the tempest of ethereal beings that Kilian had called up, taking a hit and losing concentration on the magics animating the objects in his room. Stars perseveres and checks on Kilian and Fatima before retreating out of the range of Kilian's spiritual guardians.   Stars returns to his room just in time to indirectly deliver the final blow to the assassin that had assaulted him and Hadrea by causing the man to stumble back and fall out of the window of their room. After a brief investigation, the party comes to the conclusion that they had just been attacked by the same assassins that had accosted them during their first foray into Tan'Ayya. Though it is a matter of concern, they decide that they'd be better off going back to sleep.  

The Drybranch Estate

The next morning, Stars and Hadrea have a bit of a conversation, praising each other for the good job that they did the previous evening, in fending off the assassin. After this, Dawn, Stars, and Hadrea head down to the common room, while Fatima remains in her room, with Kilian who is doing his morning prayers. Heather stays behind as well, watching over the body that she had reduced to bloody pulp the previous evening.   Arriving downstairs, Dawn, Stars, and Hadrea see that Malakh is speaking with a tall, slender, finely-dressed alossi centhiri. The two are having a hushed conversation which stops when Malakh notices the party. The alossi excuses himself and leaves at this point, making the group suspicious. Stars heads back up to ask Heather to follow the alossi, but when he sees that she is dragging the bloody corpse behind her, he realizes that she is probably not the most discreet person.   Stars turns himself invisible and heads out to follow the alossi, with Dawn following close behind as well. Stars spots Dawn flitting between the buildings, though, and seeking to help his friend, he comes up to Dawn, getting stabbed with a shortsword when he speaks from out of nowhere. Stars turns both himself and Dawn invisible and they follow the alossi to an estate at the northern edge of town, with Dawn slipping in through the front door behind the alossi.   Dawn follows the alossi through the house to the kitchens, and to a study where the alossi delivers a breakfast to what appears to be a noblewoman. Though nothing untoward is taking place, Dawn decides to stay and watch, just in case anything suspicious happens. The most suspicious thing that he witnesses is the woman taking a twig out of a velvet pouch, grinding it to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle, and mixing the powder into her wine.   Meanwhile, Stars, concerned for Dawn's safety and wanting to provide Dawn with an opening to escape the estate, disguises himself as an old beggar and comes up to the door, keeping the head servant of the household, Aldission, busy. However, as Dawn elects to stay and watch the lady, Stars' efforts are in vain and the door is closed on his face.  

The Lady ar'Zara

Realizing that Dawn and Stars have been gone for some time, the party, with Kilian who has joined Heather and Hadrea for breakfast, decides that it might be time to go looking for them. They decide to go ahead and start looking for the two, with Heather and Hadrea heading up to pack up their belongings while Kilian gives the money, that he managed to scour from the corpse of the assassin sent to his room the previous evening, to the innkeep Malakh.   Malakh mentions that there are rumors that the Drybranch estate was attacked by assassins the previous evening, as well, which piques the party's interest. They decide to head there and, upon arriving at the door, notice a beggar staring dejectedly at it. Kilian gives the beggar a gold piece while Heather knocks. Aldission opens the door, seemingly ready to deliver a lecture when he realizes that the beggar is gone. At this point, his demeanor changes and he asks the party what he can do for them.   Heather rather aggressively states that they are coming in and talking to the master of the household, who Aldission insists is away on business. Heather keeps pressing, stating that she knows there was an attack on the estate, while Aldission rebuffs her until she mentions that they were attacked too. At this point, Aldission tells the party to wait and retreats into the house.   Dawn witnesses Aldission entering the study and asking the lady whether he should let the party in, since she is the highest ranking person in the household at the moment. The lady asks if the party seems willing to be turned away, and Aldission honestly answers that he doesn't think so. Reluctantly, the lady tells Aldission to let the party in.   Stars rejoins the party just as Aldission comes out to lead the party into the study. They ask him where Dawn is but he tells them not to ask right now. They are all introduced to the lady Alida ar'Zara, who insists that everything is all right. Even when Kilian compels her to say the truth with a spell, she says that there was no attack on her person, and that there was no attempt on her life in the Drybranch estate. She assets that she is in Astina strictly for humanitarian reasons and appears to be trying really hard to convince the party that everything is as it should be.   No one believes her, though, and Dawn departs to investigate the rest of the house through the large window that looks out into the back yard of the estate. He walks around the perimeter, spotting a scrap of midnight blue clothes before being found out. He manages to lose his pursuer and makes his way back to the study, popping in and accusing the lady of lying, which the party knows she cannot do. All other questions, the lady ar'Zara says she cannot answer, even when asked if she is under a blood oath to disclose nothing.   The lady ar'Zara's manservant overfills her wineglass, for which he profusely apologizes, but before too much attention can be drawn to the incident, the lady ar'Zara throws the party a bone. She says that if, hypothetically, there had been assassins in the estate last night, which she doesn't know if it is true or not, they would not have been killed, and that they would still be in town and that the party might need to ask around.   Leaving the study, the party finds a handful of servants who had gathered to eavesdrop. The group scatters as soon as the party leaves, but Dawn manages to catch a young man by the collar of his shirt. The young man doesn't have any useful information and though Dawn tries to scare him into talking, it fails, and the young man slinks off to resume his duties.  

I am not at liberty to discuss the personal details of my employees

— Aldission

  Dawn asks Aldission about the whereabouts of the alossi that they had been following earlier, but the head servant shuts down the line of questioning before it can be finished. Aldission politely asks the party to leave and shows them the door. Outside, Dawn asks Stars to turn him into a lizard, intending to use the diminutive form to spy on the estate, but when he is transformed, his mind is as well, and he reverts to basic reptilian instincts.  

The Marketplace

Stars manages to lure Dawn back with a scrap of food, and the party decides on their next course of action. Kilian takes Dawn, in his lizard form, over to the local Dominion office to report the incident while the rest head back to the inn to ask Malakh about the alossi that he had been speaking to earlier that morning.   Malakh states that the alossi was just a friend who always came by to have a morning nip, and that he wasn't anyone special, just an employee that managed to hear a pretty juicy piece of gossip. Malakh also gives the party another rumor stating that people think the lady ar'Zara is in fact a high-ranking government official despite her outward appearance and the fact that she makes no mention of it. The party asks where he got this information, and Malakh states that the marketplace is the hotbed for gossip in Astina.   Heather and Stars head to the marketplace where they spot the lady ar'Zara's manservant making his way quickly from stall to stall, seemingly buying provisions for a long journey. Heather, coming to a conclusion based on what she's seen so far, rushes through the crowd to try and get to him while Stars watches on, stunned.