Session 13: Old Estates and New Royals

General Summary

The Lost Royal

The Foundation spent the rest of the week preparing for the masquerade ball with Vivienne and Smythe. The Ball’s game was explained to them: they would need to play as it was their first time at the Ball. The goal of the game is to guess the identities of the other players using only polite conversation and clues left on the person’s costume that point to who they are. Using Vivienne as a ringer, the Foundation can play the game to avoid any suspicion for their real task.
Vivienne managed to get her hands on blueprints of the Huntington estate. Smythe let the Foundation know that there are eight rooms in the estate that the staff is not allowed in, marked as “chambers” on the blueprints, with four on the east side of the manor and four on the west. In one of these chambers, Collis more than likely keeps the key to the Shadow Vault and any other Shadow information that he doesn’t want anyone to see, so those are their targets. Many ideas were thrown about to give them an edge at the party, but the Foundation rested on Smythe tampering with the staff so that those sympathetic to their plan had yellow eyes while those not sympathetic had blue eyes, making it easier to get about the house without raising suspicion.
Vivienne left the offices with Smythe once the plan was formed, but Yelena asked the rest of the Foundation to wait to disperse. She then asked Marcella to produce the file she had retrieved from the Shadow Outpost in Thaliost, revealing to the rest of the party her real identity. Yelena is actually Natalya Yasmila Elizabeth ir’Wynarn, the former princess of Cyre. She tells them that all of her siblings survived and are in hiding at the request of her brother, who believes the Mourning was a direct attack on Cyre and her family. She admitted that she trusted the Foundation to keep this secret because she would need help going into the “viper’s nest” of the Huntington’s Ball. She also tells them to call her by her nickname: Mila.
For the rest of the week, the Foundation prepared mentally. Marcella, along with Turk and his new Sivis Post Terminal installed in the offices, sent a report to General Aarland and Spymaster Raccanoch about all of the dealings with the Dragonshard Skull from the catacombs in Fairhaven to the outpost in Thaliost with special focus on the truth of the Shadow and the possible risk of the ability to travel between Fairhaven and Flamekeep in the hidden chapel.
Vax visited Mila before the night of the Ball and asked her to come into his room with him. After closing the door, Vax revealed to Mila his stash of money, 1800 crown hidden under his bed. He told Mila that if anything happens to him, and only if he is dead, she can use that money to send to her family. He told Mila that family is extremely important to him and if he’d known she was sending money to help her family, he wouldn’t have been so suspicious of her. Mila thanked Vax and promised to use the money for her family only if he is dead and unable to use it.
On the day before the Ball, the Foundation received their costumes, perfectly tailored. Marcella was in her room enjoying her new outfit when Essex knocked on her door. He came to tell her that he was leaving Sharn to track down the remaining members of the 66th, the lycanthrope infantry troupe he was formerly a part of. He also assured her that the Foundation didn’t need to worry about paying the Rake as Essex told him that if the Rake came for the Foundation, the Rake would have to deal with him. Nervously, he asked if he could write to Marcella while he was gone and Marcella agreed. Essex then made it clear that he wanted to say goodbye to her specifically. Marcella told him she was glad he came to say goodbye and hopes he comes back safely. With that, Essex left.

Movin’ on Up

The night of the ball arrived with the Foundation dressed to the nines. When Vivienne arrived, she asked everyone to come up with a moniker to use at the party, giving hers as an example: Mistress of the Rose. After a bit of discussion, the Foundation came up with their monikers:
Balarath - Gentleman Nighthawk
Vax - The Magnificent Pegaswan
Marcella - Madame le Monde
Rasp - The Unnamed Man
Mila - The Lady in Black

With names chosen, Vivienne led the Foundation not to the street, but to the roof of the Glass Gardens tower where they boarded a sky shuttle and flew up to Skyway. On Skyway, the Foundation took rickshaws up to the Huntington’s estate that was decorated in flowers, colored lights, garlands, banners, and more. They were announced at the party where a quartet was playing and they waited for the hosts to begin the party.
The Foundation received cards and white arm bands to indicate they were playing “the Game” and Vivienne gave them a brief crash course in how to play. Speaking to Captain Mystique, a woman wearing an elaborate pirate’s costume, Vivienne told the party that she thought they were Ariadne Thyge-Barrister, a dragonshard industry leader. The clues that Vivienne picked up on included ruby accessories, which indicate dragonshards, and bone accents, which pointed towards Q’Barra.
After that introduction to the game, a warforged servant announced the hosts for the evening as Ms. Spectra and The Smiling Devil officially beginning the party in earnest. Vivienne suggested mingling and playing the Game for about an hour before they make any incursions into the house. Marcella and Rasp met a person wearing a light blue suit and porcelain and gold mask who introduced themselves as Gentleman Forgotten. They were soft spoken, not partial to these lavish parties, and were respectful to Rasp. Marcella and Rasp noticed that the person, a woman, was holding a cane whose top was in the shape of a rook or a tower. After reporting these findings to Vivienne, she surmised that this was Councilor Charlotte Haravess, the councilor of Central Sharn. This made her one of the most powerful people in not only Sharn and Breland by extension, but also all of Khorvaire.
The Foundation began scouting out the areas of the house that they were allowed in: the vestibules, receptions rooms, and dining rooms, as well as the bathrooms in small groups. They noted that the door that goes from the west dining room and leads into the rest of the house was open and there were more ally servants on that side of the house. On the west side, the hall was open to use the bathroom, but a curtain closed off the corridor from the rest of the house.
While checking out the western dining room, Mila and Bal spoke to Fair Day Fox, who wore a black and gold suit and a simple, vulpine gold mask. They spoke with a Karrn accent and were very cordial. Bal and Mila noticed that they had a pinnacle or tower on their person, suggesting a Councilor, as well as a triangle and circle motif and four rings on his right hand, which led them to believe they were Aurum. Coming back to Vivienne, she told them that they had been speaking with Jurich Koenig, the Minister of the Aurum and councilor of Tavick’s Landing.
The Foundation met up and decided to have some people use the restroom and test to see if the rooms to the two attached chambers were open while the other continued to play the Game.
Bal and Mila took to the east side of the estate and Bal watched the hall while Mila pretended to use the bathroom. The door to the southeastern most chamber was open and Mila went inside. She found a lady’s morning room that was clean and well-kept. The only thing of note in the room was a lone copy of a seemingly untouched book entitled Interpretations of the Gods.
During that time, Vax went to find the most beautiful woman he could at the party and spotted the hostess, Ms. Spectra, or rather Marris Wistner-Huntington. She waved him over and the two spoke briefly about the party before she marked Vax's name down under his moniker in her card, the only one she had filled in.
Vax then decided to check out the western side of the estate, pretending to be drunk to slide past the sign asking guests to stay in the dining room. From there, he was able to check out the southernmost chamber, a guest bedroom. There, all he found was a copy of another solitary book, Wild, Angry Island. Vax then checked the other closest chamber, a viewing parlor of some kind. It was dimly lit and gave off a dark aura. Before checking more, he reported this to the rest of the Foundation.
Marcella and Rasp met a guest going by Draken White, but the conversation wasn’t enough to give them clues as to who they were. They also met a guest going as Khyber’s Finest, who wore a golden skull mask with amethyst eyes. They were also new to the party and didn’t seem to know how to play and were nervous, though Rasp could tell that they were feigning some of that nervousness. Marcella let the guest kiss her hand and as they did, she recognized the person as Alain de Vere.
Bal made a psychic link with Vax and asked if he could borrow Vax’s ring of invisibility to check out the east side of the house in more detail. Vax agreed and Bal used that ring along with his ring of hush to make his way easily to the more northern chambers on the east side of the manor.
One he checked turned out to be a ballroom that was being set for a dinner. Inside, a single warforged worked with his back to Bal. Bal silently entered the room and noticed that another solitary book was sitting on one of the tables that was set out, a copy of The Land of Dense, Dark Trees about the continent of Xen’drik.
The warforged then quickly moved to the door of the room and locked it before picking up a thin, silver wire off the floor. He then turned around to the room and said, “I may not be able to see you, but I know you’re here. And I can wait you out in here.”

Report Date

11 Dec 2020

Primary Location

Sharn