The Boss, The Ranger, The Spy and The Deserter

Diplomatic action

Sharp Jo tells Alcath a tale about his Mentor Shamino and where he came from. The party visits Wildcard and Trigger in the dungeon. They also interrogate Fake Trigger and find out more about there motivations and plans. The party meets Isabella Snowdrop and learns the missing chapter is on The Diamond Leviathan.

The Shades find themselves listening to a tale told to them by Sharp Jo. She reveals Shamino used to be part of Stormpeak, but he didn’t have the stomach for it, so Sharp helped him get out. She didn’t know where he went, but he would send her letters that vaguely referenced where he was. Alcath says that he died six years ago, and Alcath buried him in the mountain where they were living West of Rockshire over The Golden Lagoon in the Stannora Mountains. She says that concerns her because she got the most recent letter two years ago. Alcath says he buried him there and stayed there until roughly six months ago.   Sharp asks who she is getting letters from. Alcath asks to see the letters. The most recent is pretty poetic and flowery, and talks about hardship. She says that six years ago was just about the time he stopped mentioning the burned one. Alcath tells her that he lived with Shamino for about two years, then he died of old age.   She says that she asked about the burned one, but then he never responded. She says that for about six months, to a year that she didn’t hear from him. Sharp says a woodland creature would drop them off. Then a few years ago, she stopped seeing the animals and the letters just came.   Alcath tries to discern anything about the letters, but can’t besides the ink is different. So he calls in Moz, who was lurking. She notices that the pen changed at the same time as the ink. The pen was then a manufactured pen, rather than made in the forest, same for the paper.   The rest of The Shades take a look at them. Thuniel can’t tell anything. Sharp Jo shows Alcath a drawing of her and Shamino. He was her best friend, and she gets why he wanted to leave. She would just leave her letters to him on the windowsill where they used to eat sweet potato pie. If she left a letter with a pie, they would disappear at some point.   Gilly feels Sharp Jo out, and gets the feeling that she isn’t telling us the whole truth about why Shamino had to leave. She probably did something that she regrets, but whatever happened, Shamino had to leave because of it.   The next morning, Thuniel tries again with the letters, but doesn’t get anywhere. Then everyone goes to see Trigger.   Caia does the motion and he responds in kind. Gilly asks what happened. Trigger says he and Big Tuna went to find Louie HaHa’s body, but it wasn’t there, so he and Big Tuna followed a trail to a place where they were both jumped. He remembers the smell of a wet cat. Then he woke up here.   Gilly fills him in on everything that has happened. Bobushio fills him in on the plan to unite the city. Trigger says he doesn’t think she’s ready to be part of the crew. She’ll have to leave the Path, if she wants to do that.   Caia gives him some food and wine and regrets that we can’t spring him. Bobushio wants to talk to the changeling next, “in private.” Caia sends in invisible Ebony and Gilly slips in. Bobushio hears the changeling’s surface thoughts, “Who else came in?”   Bobushio walks in with the blank notebook in his hand. Bobushio walks up and asks, “Have you betrayed the Giver?” The changeling looks at him and asks, “Have you looked in the mirror lately?” and Bobushio responds, “A mirror never reveals its secrets.”   Bobushio can’t read him, but Gilly and Caia notice the way he replied was not how he should have, but the changeling still reacts a tiny bit. Gilly and Caia know that the changeling knows something is wrong. Bobushio gets the feeling like he’s supposed to say more.   Bobushio says, “We don’t have time for the codes. Do you have your book? We’ve been found out.”   “Have they found you?” Changeling   “I’m standing here.” Bobushio   “How’d you get past the Moonbeam?” Changeling   “It doesn’t take long to change. We’ve all been trained.” Bobushio   As soon as Bobushio starts fumbling about swearing oaths to the Giver, the changeling starts the mantra, “I will not betray the Giver.” and won’t respond to any other questions.   Bobushio starts asking questions about the notebook and parchment, trying to get the cipher. He’s able to get the code from the changeling’s deeper thoughts, and manages it. Bobushio announces, “I got it.” and the changeling doesn’t react.   Gilly shoots the changeling for fun, pinning his foot to the floor. He screams, but then keeps doing the mantra. Bobushio then tries to get the password for the book, but this person doesn’t have it because they are not the leader.   Bobushio translates the page, “On the new moon, meet between the rock by the hangman’s tree.” and there’s a code to say to identify who you are, what to say and the reply you should receive. The meeting is to give the full report of how things are going. This was found on Wum.   Wildcard returns and covered in iquor and blood from doing the thing with the man at the place. She asks what we’re up to as she cleans herself. Bobushio gives Wild Card the unity speech. Gilly introduces herself. They found two more changelings, then killed them and threw them in the river. Bobushio asks what they found on them. An empty book and a parchment that were thrown in the river.   Thuniels tells her the one with the book was likely a leader, and demonstrates the parchment. So maybe don’t kill the next one with a book. Wildcard seems fed up with Trigger, so she tells them we can take him.   Wildcard asks for a demonstration of how we tore the changeling’s mind apart, so Bobushio casts detect thoughts on her.   Gilly asks about the tabaxi fur from the library book. Wildcard identifies the the cat as Isabella Snowdrop, a cat who likes ice and who has been acquiring new things for the clan that have been lost. The pages were taken from Isabella, and we’re trying to get them back.   Bobushio asks what secrets she might be hiding to try to go deeper, and she deflects him. She is impressed. She asks if she can call Bobushio if she needs more than that.   Wildcard heard that a lot of people wanted those pages, so she wanted them too. Thuniel asks where Isabella might be. Wildcard says that she’s sniffing around over by the river near the Raven Bridge. She swiped pages, then someone swiped them from her here, recently. Someone at The Grinning Djinn took the pages.   Trigger asks if we want him to interrogate fake Trigger. Caia wants to be there, so she and GIlly go right away.   We find Isabella Snowdrop, a tiny tabaxi sniffing around. Moz asks Isabella what she’s doing out here. She says she’s looking for a book, and accepts our offer to help. The pirates stole it and took it to the ship. Isabella says the only way to get to the ship is to go to a fishing shack on the dock at ferry us out to the ship.   The Party goes back to Ivy Hill to fancy up.   Meanwhile, Trigger walks straight into the cell and begins beating the shit out of Fake Trigger. Jackie the Nose is good cop and Trigger is taking out all of his aggression on Fake Trigger. Between bouts of torture, Trigger finally asks what they’re supposed to ask the guy. The questions:   Why here and now? How did they know the Ivy Hill codes? An hour or more later, the only thing the guy will say is, “We’ve been here the whole time, and you told us your codes.” and, “I’m not the leader.”   Trigger is yelling over and over, “Who is the Leader?” Gilly tries to insight them and sees them say, “I will not betray Frost Eye.” Gilly remembers that after the audition, while talking to Kedron, he had found out something about Frost Eye.   Gilly shouts out, “Who is Frost Eye?!” But they don’t respond. But they are happy to know that no one knew that they were there, “We’ve always been here.”   Caia kneels really close to him with her hood up and changes her Face. “She says tell me how to find The Giver.” and they respond, “Have you looked in the mirror lately?” and she says she doesn’t know how to respond.   He tells her, “You don’t have long to live now we know you are alive. You are a deserter.” Caia tries to convince him that she was never a part of it. He says, “If you grew up not knowing, you were a deserter from the beginning.”   Caia draws her dagger and stabs him through the eye. Trigger understands.   Bobushio is disappointed that he doesn’t get a crack at him. But there is still have another gardener to interrogate.   We discuss what to ask next. Caia wants to ask, “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”   Big Tuna asks what we’re going to do now. He feels we need to smooth out the chaos, and get the ranks in order. Everyone gets Moonbeamed to make sure and we reinstate the password, “Regi’s toenails.”   Zips needs to talk to Thuniel. Meera is skittish and uncomfortable. Zips says she made banded armor for Meera. It’s gorgeous armor. Thuniel immediately invites her to dinner and the rest of the party does not see Thuniel until the next morning.