In which we gain access to the bank, and prepare to storm the vault

We have had a rather busy few days, but I am delighted to report a successful conclusion, at least in terms of our immediate goals. I have had little time to put pen to paper this week, but I will tell you all about how it happened, now that I have the leisure for writing again.
 
Before things went any further, Arin, Orlando and I visited the Margrave’s office, to alert the authorities as to our intentions regarding the bank. The Margrave herself proved to be out of town at the moment, and so we spoke with one of her officials, a gentleman named Kursk. I was initially wary of trusting him too far, given our suspicions about potential corruption within the administration, but he seemed to be genuine enough. He was most disconcerted to hear our reports of the trouble at the mint, and frankly shocked to learn about Duncan Penneton's duress.
 
This is a sad state of affairs as regards the government of the city and region, but I understand that they are facing considerable challenges from both the Clasp and from a group of bandits known as the Ravagers, who harass travellers on the road. Incidentally to this conversation, we also picked up details of a bounty on the head of a particularly unpleasant ravager leader, which may be worth following up in due course.
 
Kursk directed us to speak with Captain Rance, the leader of the Shields, and seek their tacit agreement for any clandestine operation which we might undertake. They declined to engage actively with any of the details,wanting to maintain a plausible deniability should things go poorly. Understandable, I suppose, but I was confident that we had their blessing, and for me at least, that made all the difference as to how confident I was in what we were doing.
 
That evening we were visited by one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. When she first came to the Inn, she presented herself as a demure elven noblewoman, rather shy in manner. She asked to speak privately to Arin, and he, looking rather puzzled, ushered her into his room. He conversed with her alone in his chamber for some little while, and when they emerged, he was white-faced and more nervous than I have ever seen him. She was transformed, dropping any pretence and moving now like a warrior, lithe and graceful.
 
Sabali was still out scouting, but the rest of us were all gathered in the little lounge of the inn, and she indicated her desire to speak with us. I must confess that I was intensely curious about the whole situation.
 
She explained that she served as an Expositor of the Cobalt Soul, a title which I later learned implies both religious fervour, and a skill in covert dealing. A commitment, I suppose one might say, to rooting out evil by less conventional methods than by using the explicit legal structures. Given the woeful state of those institutions here, I can well understand the need for such action. Of course, directed by any hand but that of a just church, such persons could very well be a serious danger in themselves. The Cobalt Soul though, no doubt requires the highest standards of probity from any operative.
 
This expositor, who I shall henceforth refer to simply as D, just in case any unfriendly person should read these letters, said that she wished to offer us her assistance in our current endeavour. This was welcome news, but even so, her visit was not without incident. I don’t know what was said in private, but Arin was clearly shaken. Her attitude was at best brusque, and could reasonably be described as rude. Predictably, neither Enessa nor Raphael responded well to this. Words were exchanged, and then, eventually losing her patience, D went so far as to physically restrain Raphael, her hand tight on his throat. No-one intervened, although Enessa would clearly have liked to do so. It was a tense moment, but I judged that the attack was not in earnest, and, in any case, I don’t know how much we could realistically have done. I suspect too, that Arin would have defended her ahead of Raphael had it come to that. It would have been his duty, after all. Wisely though, Raphael chose not to resist, and the situation calmed down quickly enough.
 
D has a haughty manner, and is clearly very conscious of her own status and power - watching her and Raphael together was rather like seeing two cats in a box puffed up and hissing at one another. She told us repeatedly that we, save perhaps for Arin, were essentially so inconsequential as to be almost beneath her notice. No doubt she knows of what she speaks, and yet to be so easily provoked by such minnows is not ideal for one in her position.
 
She could be a very valuable ally for us, particularly against the likes of the Clasp and the Myriad, but her apparent instability makes me wary of depending on her too much. Her hardness seems rather brittle, and perhaps working in the shadows inevitably has that effect on a person. At the end of the day, if she is going to react that way every time Raphael behaves like himself, then not much else is going to get done.
 
Although D and Enessa initially also exchanged some sharp words, I could see that they were speaking in a friendly enough way later, and strangely I think that the two may have quite a lot in common. I hope so - D’s faith may not be quite the same as ours, but Ioun is a worthy mistress, and I think that D’s friendship can only draw Enessa to the light. Indeed, I could learn certainly a good deal from her myself, about how to serve justice swiftly and efficiently in these messy and ill-governed lands. Methods that might not be appropriate for Vasselhiem may prove indispensable here.
 
For the immediate term, D gave us some very valuable intelligence about the layout of the bank, and also offered to lead us on an undercover reconnaissance mission to scout it further. It was agreed that Raphael would pose as a visiting Lord seeking a place to store his valuables. He would be introduced to the bank by D in her noblewoman guise and I would accompany them as the bodyguard to this gentleman, with the aim of assessing to what extent the bank staff were in on the plot, and trying to gauge the extent of any magical defences there.
 
We spent Sunday making our various preparations, I obtained a suitable disguise, and also met with Ranse, who was accompanied by D, this time posing as his aide-de-camp. Ranse struck me as trustworthy, although perhaps somewhat more disinclined to action than might have been hoped from one in their position. Although they declined to offer any direct assistance, I think they were glad to see that measures were being taken.
 
Our visit to the bank proved to be a productive one, with D vouching for Raphael, who posed as a Lord Jeremy Hightower. My role as bodyguard passed largely without question, as such persons often do here. We learned a good deal about the security systems in place and more importantly we met Nilesh, the de facto manager of the bank in the absence of the Pennetons. He was clearly very afraid of whatever was happening on the lower levels, but I also sensed an untapped well of courage in him. Alone, he was helpless in the face of whatever threats had been made, but I was sure that, approached in the right way, and with the promise of support, he would find the strength to resist what was happening.
 
He clearly cared very much for Thomas Penneton, for the staff of the bank, and for his duty towards its depositors. I hoped very much that we would ultimately be able to persuade him to co-operate with us - it would be much better all round if we did not need to use violence against this already deeply traumatised civilian. After all, the accidental death of an innocent bank employee would see any victory we achieved here turn to ash, regardless of any other outcome.
 
We made arrangements to come back later, just before closing time, to deposit Lord Hightower’s excess wealth. Overall, the scouting had gone smoothly and I think even D was pleased.
 
While we were out, the others had also been busy. Orlando had, using the facilities of the Cobalt Soul, managed to isolate the ingredient being used to bulk out the counterfeit coins - it turned out to be a crystal called Calthian. This was vital evidence which we cold bring to the Margrave in due course. Sabali and Arin had worked on brewing some potent sleep potions which would be invaluable should we need to get past honest guardsmen.
 
I made the case for attempting to persuade Nilesh to assist us in accessing the lower levels, and it was agreed that we would try, although if necessary then we would have to subdue him and take his keys by force.
 
As arranged, Raphael and I, now accompanied by Zeni, posing as another of Lord Hightower's servants, returned to the bank just as its doors were closing to the general public. We were shown without delay to the deposit room which we had visited earlier, and there, the door closed firmly behind us, I laid our cards on the table. I had, of course, prayed for Bahamut’s strength to guide my words, but I was surprised to feel the extent of his power rising in me as I spoke. The reflective surfaces in the room began to turn a rich gold, and looking down, I could see the skin of my hands warm with radiance. Both Zeni and Raphael were looking at me with wide eyes, and I had no doubt that a distinct and visible halo was forming over my hair.
 
Normally I would have felt very awkward about any such manifestation and indeed, I think that I did falter for a moment, doubting my worthiness for such a gift. Then I saw Zeni nod encouragingly, and, seeing the openness in her normally cynical expression, I resolved not to question the wisdom of the gods, but simply to use whatever power I had been granted. With that divine grace filling the room, Nilesh found the courage to do the right thing. It took every ounce of his strength, but he can look back on this day and be proud.
 
With a shaking voice, he told us what had happened. Thomas Penneton had got himself into debt (we later discovered this was, outrageously, given the situation, a debt to the Clasp itself), and the Myriad had offered him assistance with it. That deal had in some way gone wrong, Thomas had attempted, too late, to withdraw, and the consequences had been deadly. Two guards had been killed, and Thomas himself was gravely wounded and imprisoned in the lower levels of the bank. Nilesh hoped that he still lived, but could not be sure.
 
Persuaded that we would have at least a chance of tackling the situation without costing Thomas’s life, he agreed to allow the rest of the party entrance to the bank, and to give us the means to access the lower floor. Whatever was below, he said, was large and evil, and able to change its form. That sounded ominous, but none of us really knew what to make of it.
 
Before our descent to face whatever evil was below, Nilesh took us to examine the mint itself, and there Arin discovered the evidence that we needed in the log books of the mint’s operations. While he poured over the lines of figures, I kept a close eye on the piles of coin left carelessly scattered across the tables here - both Zeni and Wind were casting covetous glances every now and again, but I am glad to say that neither of them sullied our good name by attempting to steal from those we had come here to protect.
 
It was agreed that Nilesh would remain above, and would raise the alarm with Ranse should we fail to return. After all, in that case Thomas would almost certainly be dead. Looking rather green, Nilesh wished us good fortune, and, admirably concerned for the propriety of his business even in this extremity, asked me to ensure than no-one looted the vaults below. He looked uneasily at Wind as he said this, and she flashed him a grin of such convincingly sweet and pure innocence that I had to smile.
 
Steeling ourselves, we prepared to enter the vault.