Unicorn 2/9

The last time our heroes adventured in the northern city of Neverwinter, they ran afoul of a fiendish assailant who assaulted them and kidnapped Calben. He introduced himself as Ethan Gyles, a name which Fiego encountered once again in his research into the family of the brave Sir Edwin Bryce. It seemed that Sir Bryce had had an older brother who went by the name Ethan Gyles. While he was most concerned with doing justice by the Bryce family and Sir Edwin’s legacy, Fiego did inquire a little more deeply into the story of Ethan Gyles. He discovered that the man was something of a loner. There was mention of sons he lost and a daughter that joined an arcane organization, but the Bryce family did not recall much beyond that, as it was a story from a century prior and all accounts ended with the Spellplague.   This time when Luminosa sent a dream message to Fiego, he was not as surprised and got down to business after the usual pleasantries. She told him that she had an urgent task for Fiego and some trusted associates transporting goods from Neverwinter to Waterdeep. Since time was of the essence, Luminosa had chartered a coach for them, to leave the next morning.   Xion, the mysterious shadow monk, kept the location of his living quarters secret, but Fiego was able to leave word for him with known associates about the new mission. Then he went to visit Bryseis in her chambers at Blackstaff Academy. He invited her to go along with him to Neverwinter and enticed her with a visit to the arcane laboratory where he found the modrons. The wizard jumped at the chance to see Luminosa's lab, but when her mentor found out where she was going she was tasked by the Order of Magists and Protectors to report back to them everything she learned about Luminosa, who was a new and strange player in the game.   The next morning, Fiego and Bryseis met at the appointed time at the hired coach. It was manned by two of Luminosa’s people, one of them a blue skinned humanoid of a people that neither of them had ever seen. They spoke briefly about the job before Fiego worried aloud that Xion seemed to be late, whereupon they were both startled by the shadow monk’s voice from inside the coach informing them that he had been ready to go. This also startled the coachmen, since they hadn’t seen the half elf approach. With both his compatriots present, Fiego divulged the information he had gathered from Neverwinter about Sir Bryce’s erstwhile brother, Ethan Gyles, the same Ethan Gyles who had attacked them on the streets of the northern city. More information would have to come for Luminosa herself.   During the journey, Fiego and Bryseis rode in the coach, while Xion decided to ride his own horse and keep a lookout position. The noble and the researcher were both curious about the blue skinned coachman and engaged him in conversation. They found out that he hailed from Ravnica, a city that stretched endlessly in every direction, seeming to blanket the entire plane it occupied and run by powerful Guilds. They were amazed and longed to see it for themselves. When they asked about the job that Luminosa had planned for them, he told them that it was to transport a shipment of Mizzium, a metal from Ravnica with the unique property of being able to channel magical energy. Luminosa was gifting the metal to Waterdeep as a gesture of good will.   When our heroes arrived in Waterdeep, they collected Calben from where he was employed at his uncle’s toy shop. Fiego introduced him to Bryseis and the two had a brief discussion regarding Calben’s magical praxis and his unusual familiar, a mechanical flying squirrel named Scooter.   After introductions, our heroes made their way into Luminosa’s Laboratory where the lady herself greeted them and welcomed them. She thanked them for coming back to Neverwinter and gave them their mission. As they had already learned from the Ravnican coachman, they were to help transport a load of mizzium to Waterdeep, a gesture which would help Luminosa forge ties with the City of Splendors, but what the coachman did not know was that the mizzium was also going to act as bait for Ethan Gyles. They were to use it to draw him out and then summon Luminosa with a charm she supplied for them. She warned them that he seemed very dangerous and that they should abandon the mizzium if necessary to save their lives.   Bryseis, an arcane researcher herself, was very curious about the Laboratory and Luminosa was happy to give her a tour. She spoke about how it may have been created by the near mythical wizard, Kwalish, before Luminosa and her modron allies found it and repurposed it. It had many wings, each with their own area of research. The only wing currently safe was the one our heroes cleared out, which contained the inter planar portal. During the tour Fiego told Bryseis the story of his previous adventures in Neverwinter, she was horrified by the idea of researchers burning their research in order to survive.   After the tour, our heroes approached the celestial couatl, Idero, in hopes of learning something new to counter the power of the fiend. He professed knowing very little of help against the being known as Ethan Gyles, but suggested that a successful casting of Dispel Magic against his mechanical servitor, known as a Steel Predator, might serve to deactivate it.   As the transport caravan was leaving the next morning, our heroes decide to return to the tavern they had visited before, the Hind and the Hare. The musicians performing that night included the tabaxi reporter they had encountered previously, as well as one of the birdlike Kenku.   The next morning our heroes started their journey back to Waterdeep with a cargo of the magical metal mizzium and a handful of drivers sent along by Luminosa. They kept their guard up for any signs of the fiendish Ethan Gyles, but instead encountered a group of bandits who attempted to ambush them. They seemed like common bandits, until it was revealed that they had more highly trained and better equipped backup waiting in the bushes to the side of the road.   Our heroes joined battle confidently. Bryseis lobbed volleys of fire at the bandits, wreathing herself in flames defensively, Calben summoned plumes of smoke and a whirling dust devil to batter the bandits, Fiego confronted a half a dozen crossbow wielding bandits and fended off almost all of their volleys before being downed by one of the elite guard wielding a spear, Xion sparred with more of the elite guard and was also knocked unconscious.   With two of their number down, it seemed grim for our heroes until a mysterious assailant started attacking the bandits, dispatching them handily, despite the fact that they seemed to recognize their attacker and be allied. The assailant revealed himself to be Ethan Gyles who informed them that their services would no longer be necessary. The fiend mowed through the bandits with ease, the distraction allowing our heroes to revive their fallen companions with potions. During the fray, Bryseis managed to Dispel the Steel Predator and Xion, once revived, broke the charm to summon Luminosa.   After finishing off the bandits, Ethan Gyles turned his attention to our heroes. He demanded that they produce Luminosa so that she could answer for her crime of killing his daughter. He gave them one minute to bring her or he would slaughter them all. Knowing they were hopelessly outmatched the group scattered, except for Fiego, who resigned himself to try and distract the fiend and pulled out a deck of playing cards and started shuffling, asking Ethan Gyles if he played.   With the minute counting down, Fiego attempted to engage the fiend in conversation. He informed him of the fate of his brother, Sir Edwin Bryce, and how the man was now again in the embrace of his God, but the man wasn’t inclined to converse or wager on a game of cards. The minute is almost up when Luminosa appeared with a contingent of well armed guards.   Gyles moved to attack her, but Fiego gave him a magical command to “Hear her out.” and calmed enough for Luminosa to explain her situation. Gyles accused her of killing his daughter and taking her face, but Luminosa said her guise was granted her when she read the book that apparently also gave her free will. Gyles said that he would investigate and that if he found out she was lying, would return to kill her and all her allies. Then he disappeared, taking his Steel Predator with him.   With the fiend gone, our heroes were able to complete their journey and deliver the mizzium to Blackstaff Academy and get paid in the process, richer in coin, but with some questions hanging in the air. Who was Ethan Gyles, really? He was originally human, but now he appeared to be a fiend according to a reliable source. Why did Luminosa possess the face of his daughter? Did the book have her soul in it? What were the ethical ramifications of that?