Palace Scouting

The dawn after the party. The plan is set. In the night after this, the party shall launch their strike on the Palace. But first, they needed to gather information: the plan lacked finesse and clearly needed more on-the-ground details. As it was, the group mostly had focused on getting a force necessary to even launch a coup, and the plan was mostly to sneak as far as they could at night before rushing in and killing the Prince. So step two in all this was to scout the palace and search for a way for the party to not be riddled with arrows when they confront the prince. 

The Approach

The party went along with Wenaldo, Lady Taihosha's experienced servant, to the palace to accept the Prince's invitation to parley. Makar and Potha would speak with the prince directly, while Kipilu and Arzet would infiltrate the back rooms as servants.
Right off the bat, it was obvious that attacking the palace head on meant entering a lot of vulnerable kill zones between towers and walls with arrow slots. Here's a low-tier, low-effort map:

Additionally, approaching from the North was both easier to initially enter, but also harder to get to the personal wing of the Prince's palace. The South entrance seemed to have minimal and high-regulation traffic, and likely had its own extra defenses.
So, finding alternative paths in, at least for the party, would be a priority. 

The Prince

Prince Mazaru Eramzir's minions may have been easily fooled by the party, but he wasn't. He indicated he had been aware of Makar even before they had left to adventure - the Prince had been tracking anomalies like him even then. He knew they were the Architects reborn. And he was ready to negotiate. He revealed his plan: to manipulate and bind himself to all four Adversaries and pit them against each other. He was willing to work with the Gods as well, to accept their blessings and negotiate with them. He just wanted to be Emperor Eternal of Zerua, a small part of a big world. 
Makar tried to scare and persuade him away from this foolhardy plan, but he was insulted by what he saw as belittling insults. The Prince was simply too proud and too nasty to be negotiated with. Realizing the Gods weren't interested, the Prince shifted gears towards blackmail. He used Detect Thoughts to break into Makar's memories directly, drinking in the God's grand plans and strategies to best use as a threat - something to be potentially handed over to the Dark Forces or used as collateral. He also learned of the Gods' companion locations, as additional fodder for threats. The party ignored these, particularly since the Prince was giving them a week to sit and consider things. 
The Prince left with that, and the two Gods remained there to chat with the Doom Paladin at the Prince's side, Hossu. Hossu was fun, yet also threatening, and made it clear he would hunt down the other two Gods wherever they were in the palace. Makar also used Detect Thoughts to find evidence of a strange ally of the other side who emerged from the ocean - most likely Eada.

Servant's Side

While all this was going on, Arzet and Kipilu began scouting and mapping the Public Side of the Palace. The two split up, with Kipilu investigating the ballroom and Arzet investigating the mail room. 
Arzet discovered several things: that Captain Yarzin, the man they had murdered days ago, had been discovered. That there were big bureaucratic projects starting up suddenly among the clerks. And that there were three teenage Doom Paladins in the Temple of Aizusha, organizing a child militia of servant kids. Guard Honshu had been assigned babysitter, and was kind to Arzet. The kids themselves proved eerie, traumatized, and violent; they had been paladins of Theia the Liberator who had been assigned to killing Hossu, who joined him instead. When Hossu eventually came to hunt Arzet, Arzet went willingly to talk with the paladin. The two chatted, with Hossu mostly letting Arzet leave with advice for the Gods to treat paladins better. 
A worse mspaint version of the map so far:

Meanwhile, Kipilu focused his investigation on the strange scents of the ballroom. His search led to him being caught by a cat named Grindlelina, who invited him down into the depths of the Jellicle court of the palace. Through a secret passage they went, down into a hidden basement. There, the cats dined on fine food and sat on lavish plush mattresses, dancing and preparing reports for the Prince. The cats were even more spies of the prince. They were led by a corrupted cat named Grand Olympia, who had both sworn herself to Kasmir, the Rot and been influenced seemingly by Eada. 
Kipilu gave them knowledge about The Scourge  and about Far Harbor Club in exchange for joining their number. He got a gooefeather cat cloak and access to their secret passageway into the palace. It would be possible for the party to use these, though it may be difficult for a full coup force to enter that way. Kipilu used the Goosefeathers to escape Hossu and join the party.
The party convinced Wenaldo, distraught and increasingly suspicious of the party, to flee the city with Lady Taihosha, their host. 
Afterwards, plans for next time:

• Potha may go help the selkies down by the docks
• Makar may go visit Bexi and the Scourge
• Kipilu and Arzet may try and scout the Private wing of the palace? 

Components

Goals

QUEST:

• Kill or stop Prince Mazaru Eramzir 
• Destroy the nascent Zeruan Plague Engine, to prevent a new Rot Plague Variant
• Scout out the powers and weaknesses of the Nemeses
• Make connections and allies
• Marshal resources

Relations

Protagonists

Makar Mesaba: The Masked One reborn, from Etekamo . Divine Soul Sorcerer, Courtier Background
Potha Sarana: Halcyon reborn, from the Sarana Tribe . Beastmaster Ranger, Outlander Background
Kipilu of Tezitkal : The Hidden One reborn, from Tezitkal . Glamour Bard, Acolyte Background.
Arzet Devadov: The Chimera reborn, from Adov . Conjuration Wizard, Sage Background.

Neutrals/Bystanders

Taihosha Torizir: A young woman in Kreniko , the youngest in a family of landlords, businessmen, and minor nobles. Taihosha is not particularly aware of the greater state of the world, and is more concerned with elevating her house and supporting her brother. She considers herself a loyal supporter of Prince Mazaru Eramzir but isn't zealously supportive. Wenaldo: The Torizir family servant, currently occupied with trying to care for Yarzin and Taihosha. An old man who was the loyal butler of their mother, Wenaldo was once a capable court actor - but he mostly deals with staff hiring and advising the children now. He is a friendly, toddering old man.

Competitors

Eada: A shapeshifter, former ally turned against the party

Adversaries

Prince Mazaru Eramzir: An old and bitter prince, trying to balance the Nemeses 
Hossu Brave Eyes: A former paladin of Wimbo, God of Heroes, now turned Doom Paladin. Friendly, boisterous, nihilistic, enjoys killing.
Olympia: A Jellicle Cat Leader who has embraced Kasmir, the Rot as 'the Song of Silence'. Head of the Goosefeather Court, spy servant of the Prince.

Parent Plot

Getting the Ball Rolling

Related Characters

• Prince Mazaru Eramzir

Related Locations

• Kreniko