Session 15: Unraveled
General Summary
Still in the parlor of the Huntington Estate, Marcella and Bal moved to return to the party, but Vax wanted to take Operative IV’s mask. He first tried to grab it by hand, but noticed some smoky tendrils attempt to grasp him when he did. Instead, he made several attempts to grab the mask using mage hand. On the last attempt, the smoky aura grasped his fingers through the mage hand, robbing them of warmth. He did, however, manage to wrap the mask up in a piece of his cape (cut by Bal) and pocket it before leaving the parlor.
Back at the party, Vivienne and Mila met Clockwork Esquire who Vivienne later identified as Tensin d’Orien, an underbaron of House Orien and the pilot of the Platinum Unicorn. Marcella communicated via sending stone to Vivienne and Mila that Operative IV was most likely Marris Wistner-Huntington as they had found her uniform and mask in the parlor. Mila looked for Marris at the party and found that Marris was watching her intently and waved to her.
Mila left Vivienne and met with the rest of the party on the western side of the manor. They decided to split up and head for the Den in an attempt to find the key as quickly as possible so they could leave the party.
Mila, Bal, and Vax made it to the Den without issue, thanks to Marcella’s casting of pass without a trace on the whole party. Unfortunately, as Marcella made her way through the party to the east side of the manor with Rasp in tow, a gloved hand grabbed her arm to stop her. Alain de Vere was not done it seemed. He told her that he had forgotten to give her something and handed her a letter with the seal of the Royal Eyes on it. Marcella, angry, threw the rest of her champagne in Alain’s face who calmly removed his mask, flicked away the champagne, bowed, and left the party.
At the Den, the party found Smythe about to leave the room, but Vax quickly told him to go back inside and the rest of the party followed, except for Marcella, who took a moment to read Alain’s letter. The letter was one of heavy reprimand from Thuel Raccanoch, Spymaster of the Royal Eyes. It also said that Marcella’s mission had been terminated, she was to run silent until further notice, and that Alain de Vere was her new handler.
Inside, the party searched the room to try and uncover the mystery of the books left throughout the estate. Bal finally stumbled upon a second copy of Band of Dusk on one of the shelves and removed it. Underneath was a pressure plate and mechanical working could be heard engaging under the hidden stairs. The rest of the party made quick work finding the other six and when the last one was removed, the stair appeared, lowering into the floor. Unfortunately for Vax, he had been standing on top of them and tumbled down below.
The rest of the party followed, leaving Smythe up above. Below the estate, the Foundation discovered a currently working Shadow Outpost. In the room was a training grounds, a lavish desk, a House Sivis terminal, like the one Turk had installed in the Foundation offices, and a large, topographical map table representing Khorvaire.
After searching the area thoroughly, the party decided that the Operatives knew that they were at the party and probably knew that they were in the outpost below, so it didn’t make any sense to be delicate. Bal discovered that a floating dragonshard on the desk was a shard of holding, and managed to open it. Inside were stacks of files and folders and an ornate, oval box. Taking out the box, Bal opened it and found inside a large, intricate silver key, similar to the one they found in Ghalt. Also, there was a symbol of a skeletal stag on the inside and when Bal opened it, a recorded message played that said:
Communicae sent 4/14/984
Status of Subject 88:
Initial contact with Subject 88 went as planned. Four agents struck Putnam’s after midnight. As predicted, Subject’s parents defended him and gave their lives to protect him. Agents were disguised as House Thuranni assassins and no reports have been made. Cover remains intact. No further contacts with Subject 88 are planned at this time until after the observation period. Subject will be observed for a period of up to 15 years. Monitoring to begin immediately with frequent reports. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 5/1/985
Status of Subject 88:
Subject’s use of the arcane has waned significantly. This has corresponded with a significant drop-off in attendance to the circus and a general lack of success within the troupe. I predict the circus will not last the decade. Subject 88 harbors a lot of anger and fear, which will prove useful to us down the line. Nothing further to report at this time. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 6/30/990
Status of Subject 88:
Subject 88 continues to work with the circus, but has begun personal training in espionage and subterfuge. He has started to learn how to impersonate handwriting, body language, and speech patterns all on his own. This is a surprising and unexpected turn for Subject 88, but a very exciting one. I think you might have been right about this one. Nothing further to report at this time. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 10/22/992
Status of Subject 88:
Subject remains allusive, living nomadically on the rails. He has shown little of the arcane talents that he was originally scouted for, either indicating a tremendous strength of will or a disconnect from his original arcane source. My guess is the former. Subject 88 still believes that a group of House Thuranni assassins were behind the deaths of his parents. Subject also believes that they successfully hid him from our scouts. No further information to report on Subject 88, observation still ongoing. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 5/24/998
Status of Subject 88:
Putnam’s Circus is on its last legs and Subject 88 is aware of this. His skills have now gone beyond what he is willing to openly use in service of the circus. Subject has shown signs that he is contemplating leaving Putnam’s and heading out to find work for better pay. Places that he could be heading include Passage, Fairhaven, and Thaliost if he sticks to the Lightning Loop that he is used to, but I suspect he will head for Sharn. It is my belief that the Subject is looking to change his perspective. Subject may travel under an alias of his own device, though that alias remains unknown to me. If this occurs soon, and I suspect it will, then this will be my last report on Subject 88. The fifteen year observation cycle is almost up and the decision will need to be made. My recommendation is yes. Signed,
Operative VI
When she finished reading, Marcella immediately pulled the dagger from her cane, held it to Vax’s throat and asked him to explain. Vax, confused, said he didn’t know what she meant. Marcella pressed, asking if Vax was in league with the Shadow, to which Vax said he wasn’t and he didn’t know what she meant. Marcella allowed Vax to read the report and his demeanor shifted. The rest of the party was told that it seemed the Shadow had been following Vax his whole life and that it was the Shadow that killed his parents, not the elven assassins he had so long believed. Satisfied that Vax was unaware of this, Marcella sheathed her dagger and stowed the documents back in the shard. Bal put the key in his pocket, then closed the box, returned it to the shard, closed it, and tossed it to Marcella to keep. Vax ripped off 10ft of ticker tape coming out of the Sivis terminal, wrapped it up and also pocketed that. Mila took a glance at the large, topographical map with markers on it, but couldn’t make heads or tails of what the markers meant, just that most major cities had one. With that, the party left the outpost to return to the party and try to leave subtly as quickly as possible. However, when they got back out to the courtyard, all of the guests, staff, and hosts had vanished from the party. Vivienne stood in the drive and told the party that the hosts had quickly cleared the guests out after they left the party and had left no means of transportation back to the sky docks, so they decided to walk. As they walked down the beautiful, spiral pathway, Bal established a mind link with Vax and tried to reassure him about the report they had read, but Vax refused to respond. The road was well-paved, but the party still moved forward on shaky legs until they got to the Skyway Gate. There, they saw plenty of Watchmen to make them feel more at ease. Before the gates could close behind them, they heard the voice of Marris asking why they left so soon. She wore her Operative’s uniform save for the mask, which she managed to magic away from Vax despite his attempt at casting counterspell. She then taunted the party and stalled, telling them that the beauty of their organization is that “...everyone has a Shadow. Everyone has a price. It’s just a matter of finding out what yours is.” Before the conversation could turn, Marris admitted that she was stalling, waiting for Operative V to show up. The party turned to see that V was blocking their way forward, but that wasn’t all. Marris revealed that the watchmen standing in the shadows were all dead and being held up in a ruse, which she dropped to reveal the final person she had been waiting for. Estoc, the massive warforged that had accosted Bal back at the estate, stood on the watchman’s platform and removed his decorative hairpiece to reveal a numeral III on his forehead. The party had a choice: stand and fight or flee. They wisely chose to flee, barging past V who wasn’t fast enough to hit Bal as they flew past. And then the chase was on. The party flew down the spiral walkway of the Skyway towards the sky docks, dodging watchmen, and firing off spells at the pursuing Operatives. At one point, Vax managed to charm Operative V, but Marris came quickly behind and with a swipe of her dragonmarked hand, brough Operative V back to the Shadow. At the gates to the sky docks, the Operatives had parked a carriage blocking the path, but with a powerful, fiery chromatic orb, Vax blew the carriage apart, clearing the way. As the party boarded an empty sky shuttle, Vax stood on the dock, waiting for the Operatives. Marris and V caught up and Marcella cast darkness between them and the dock. III, who had disappeared, jumped down from the walkway above, some 60 ft., taking no damage. Mila used her aberrant dragonmark to pilot the sky shuttle, struggling at first to get it moving, but finally pulling away from the Skyway. Operative III charged at Vax who used misty step to teleport to the shuttle. III was charging too fast to stop and toppled over the edge of the dock, but managed to fire a grappling dart back at the Skyway, stopping his fall. Vax, not satisfied to simply get away, fired a thunderbolt at III’s rope, cutting it. Marris and V appeared out of the darkness and she pointed at the falling III. V teleported down to catch him and bring him back up to safety. With that the sky shuttle disappeared into a cloud, leaving the Operatives behind. Mila, piloting the sky shuttle, was overcome by a daydream of the last time she was on a sky shuttle flying through a cloud. It was the terrible memory of the Mourning, of the fall of Metrol, the capital of the Empire, and the flight of her siblings. As they came out on the other side of the cloud, Mila returned to the present and to Sharn. With Vivienne’s help, they docked at the Glass Gardens Tower and returned to the offices of the Phaeros Foundation. Rasp went to sleep, as did Mila. Bal showed Turk the key and the box that held it, playing the recording to him. Vax gave Turk the ticker tape and he quickly got to work transcribing it. Vax then decided to leave the offices. Marcella and Hackett shared a moment where they briefly agreed that Vax leaving was a bad idea, and Marcella decided to try and follow Vax. Because he was acting so oddly, she lost him in the crowd of Middle Tavick’s Landing. Vax ended up at the Gunpowder Tea Room in Lower Tavick’s Landing where he drunk himself into a blackout stupor. While blacked out, he had a vivid dream. The dream had him return to a memory that Vax had tried desperately to forget, a dark room, a stiff cot, and the sounds of commotion and screams in the distance. However, as he relived it, he saw Marris Wistner-Huntington at the end of the cot he laid on inside the memory, dressed in what looked like sleeping clothes, her hair down. They spoke to each other and Marris explained that the curse he had picked up from touching her mask would force him to relive a time he had witnessed death in his life every time he slept. She told him that this time, she was happy to have a break from witnessing all the death she had caused. Vax was shaken awake by staff at the Tea Room and he was kicked out into the street where he wandered around again until he passed out. Back at the offices, Bal stayed awake with Turk and explained everything about the evening and the presence of Operative III to Turk and Hackett. Eventually, Bal fell asleep where he sat. In the morning, Mila and Rasp woke early and Mila read in the Korranberg Chronicle that talks had been agreed upon between Thrane and Aundair to begin soon. Deeper in the paper, she saw a brief report that less and less refugees came to New Cyre everyday and that Governor Konstantin had begun to grow into a competent leader. Marcella joined soon after and fully explained the letter she had received from Alain and the predicament she was now in. Just then, a knock came at the door and General Aarland came into the offices, asking to meet with Marcella. He led her to the empty side of the office and when he turned around, one of his blue eyes was green. He said to Marcella, “I hear Aundair is lovely this time of year,” to which Marcella answered, “Perfect for travelling.” Aarland then said, “Hello again, my Child.” Marcella answered, “Hello, Mother.”
“IV, I am entrusting you to keep hold of this vault key while we continue our efforts to recruit I. This key cannot fall into the wrong hands. It may be a warded vault in the middle of nowhere, but it can still be compromised. If anyone should gain access to that vault, our entire operation could fall apart. Roth’s work is key to New Dawn. Do not fail me, IV. Do not fail the Shadow again.”Bal then handed Marcella the stacks of folders and files within and Marcella spent five minutes combing through trying to find anything of interest. Near the top was a report that caught her eye:
Communicae sent 4/14/984
Status of Subject 88:
Initial contact with Subject 88 went as planned. Four agents struck Putnam’s after midnight. As predicted, Subject’s parents defended him and gave their lives to protect him. Agents were disguised as House Thuranni assassins and no reports have been made. Cover remains intact. No further contacts with Subject 88 are planned at this time until after the observation period. Subject will be observed for a period of up to 15 years. Monitoring to begin immediately with frequent reports. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 5/1/985
Status of Subject 88:
Subject’s use of the arcane has waned significantly. This has corresponded with a significant drop-off in attendance to the circus and a general lack of success within the troupe. I predict the circus will not last the decade. Subject 88 harbors a lot of anger and fear, which will prove useful to us down the line. Nothing further to report at this time. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 6/30/990
Status of Subject 88:
Subject 88 continues to work with the circus, but has begun personal training in espionage and subterfuge. He has started to learn how to impersonate handwriting, body language, and speech patterns all on his own. This is a surprising and unexpected turn for Subject 88, but a very exciting one. I think you might have been right about this one. Nothing further to report at this time. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 10/22/992
Status of Subject 88:
Subject remains allusive, living nomadically on the rails. He has shown little of the arcane talents that he was originally scouted for, either indicating a tremendous strength of will or a disconnect from his original arcane source. My guess is the former. Subject 88 still believes that a group of House Thuranni assassins were behind the deaths of his parents. Subject also believes that they successfully hid him from our scouts. No further information to report on Subject 88, observation still ongoing. Signed,
Operative VI
Communicae sent 5/24/998
Status of Subject 88:
Putnam’s Circus is on its last legs and Subject 88 is aware of this. His skills have now gone beyond what he is willing to openly use in service of the circus. Subject has shown signs that he is contemplating leaving Putnam’s and heading out to find work for better pay. Places that he could be heading include Passage, Fairhaven, and Thaliost if he sticks to the Lightning Loop that he is used to, but I suspect he will head for Sharn. It is my belief that the Subject is looking to change his perspective. Subject may travel under an alias of his own device, though that alias remains unknown to me. If this occurs soon, and I suspect it will, then this will be my last report on Subject 88. The fifteen year observation cycle is almost up and the decision will need to be made. My recommendation is yes. Signed,
Operative VI
When she finished reading, Marcella immediately pulled the dagger from her cane, held it to Vax’s throat and asked him to explain. Vax, confused, said he didn’t know what she meant. Marcella pressed, asking if Vax was in league with the Shadow, to which Vax said he wasn’t and he didn’t know what she meant. Marcella allowed Vax to read the report and his demeanor shifted. The rest of the party was told that it seemed the Shadow had been following Vax his whole life and that it was the Shadow that killed his parents, not the elven assassins he had so long believed. Satisfied that Vax was unaware of this, Marcella sheathed her dagger and stowed the documents back in the shard. Bal put the key in his pocket, then closed the box, returned it to the shard, closed it, and tossed it to Marcella to keep. Vax ripped off 10ft of ticker tape coming out of the Sivis terminal, wrapped it up and also pocketed that. Mila took a glance at the large, topographical map with markers on it, but couldn’t make heads or tails of what the markers meant, just that most major cities had one. With that, the party left the outpost to return to the party and try to leave subtly as quickly as possible. However, when they got back out to the courtyard, all of the guests, staff, and hosts had vanished from the party. Vivienne stood in the drive and told the party that the hosts had quickly cleared the guests out after they left the party and had left no means of transportation back to the sky docks, so they decided to walk. As they walked down the beautiful, spiral pathway, Bal established a mind link with Vax and tried to reassure him about the report they had read, but Vax refused to respond. The road was well-paved, but the party still moved forward on shaky legs until they got to the Skyway Gate. There, they saw plenty of Watchmen to make them feel more at ease. Before the gates could close behind them, they heard the voice of Marris asking why they left so soon. She wore her Operative’s uniform save for the mask, which she managed to magic away from Vax despite his attempt at casting counterspell. She then taunted the party and stalled, telling them that the beauty of their organization is that “...everyone has a Shadow. Everyone has a price. It’s just a matter of finding out what yours is.” Before the conversation could turn, Marris admitted that she was stalling, waiting for Operative V to show up. The party turned to see that V was blocking their way forward, but that wasn’t all. Marris revealed that the watchmen standing in the shadows were all dead and being held up in a ruse, which she dropped to reveal the final person she had been waiting for. Estoc, the massive warforged that had accosted Bal back at the estate, stood on the watchman’s platform and removed his decorative hairpiece to reveal a numeral III on his forehead. The party had a choice: stand and fight or flee. They wisely chose to flee, barging past V who wasn’t fast enough to hit Bal as they flew past. And then the chase was on. The party flew down the spiral walkway of the Skyway towards the sky docks, dodging watchmen, and firing off spells at the pursuing Operatives. At one point, Vax managed to charm Operative V, but Marris came quickly behind and with a swipe of her dragonmarked hand, brough Operative V back to the Shadow. At the gates to the sky docks, the Operatives had parked a carriage blocking the path, but with a powerful, fiery chromatic orb, Vax blew the carriage apart, clearing the way. As the party boarded an empty sky shuttle, Vax stood on the dock, waiting for the Operatives. Marris and V caught up and Marcella cast darkness between them and the dock. III, who had disappeared, jumped down from the walkway above, some 60 ft., taking no damage. Mila used her aberrant dragonmark to pilot the sky shuttle, struggling at first to get it moving, but finally pulling away from the Skyway. Operative III charged at Vax who used misty step to teleport to the shuttle. III was charging too fast to stop and toppled over the edge of the dock, but managed to fire a grappling dart back at the Skyway, stopping his fall. Vax, not satisfied to simply get away, fired a thunderbolt at III’s rope, cutting it. Marris and V appeared out of the darkness and she pointed at the falling III. V teleported down to catch him and bring him back up to safety. With that the sky shuttle disappeared into a cloud, leaving the Operatives behind. Mila, piloting the sky shuttle, was overcome by a daydream of the last time she was on a sky shuttle flying through a cloud. It was the terrible memory of the Mourning, of the fall of Metrol, the capital of the Empire, and the flight of her siblings. As they came out on the other side of the cloud, Mila returned to the present and to Sharn. With Vivienne’s help, they docked at the Glass Gardens Tower and returned to the offices of the Phaeros Foundation. Rasp went to sleep, as did Mila. Bal showed Turk the key and the box that held it, playing the recording to him. Vax gave Turk the ticker tape and he quickly got to work transcribing it. Vax then decided to leave the offices. Marcella and Hackett shared a moment where they briefly agreed that Vax leaving was a bad idea, and Marcella decided to try and follow Vax. Because he was acting so oddly, she lost him in the crowd of Middle Tavick’s Landing. Vax ended up at the Gunpowder Tea Room in Lower Tavick’s Landing where he drunk himself into a blackout stupor. While blacked out, he had a vivid dream. The dream had him return to a memory that Vax had tried desperately to forget, a dark room, a stiff cot, and the sounds of commotion and screams in the distance. However, as he relived it, he saw Marris Wistner-Huntington at the end of the cot he laid on inside the memory, dressed in what looked like sleeping clothes, her hair down. They spoke to each other and Marris explained that the curse he had picked up from touching her mask would force him to relive a time he had witnessed death in his life every time he slept. She told him that this time, she was happy to have a break from witnessing all the death she had caused. Vax was shaken awake by staff at the Tea Room and he was kicked out into the street where he wandered around again until he passed out. Back at the offices, Bal stayed awake with Turk and explained everything about the evening and the presence of Operative III to Turk and Hackett. Eventually, Bal fell asleep where he sat. In the morning, Mila and Rasp woke early and Mila read in the Korranberg Chronicle that talks had been agreed upon between Thrane and Aundair to begin soon. Deeper in the paper, she saw a brief report that less and less refugees came to New Cyre everyday and that Governor Konstantin had begun to grow into a competent leader. Marcella joined soon after and fully explained the letter she had received from Alain and the predicament she was now in. Just then, a knock came at the door and General Aarland came into the offices, asking to meet with Marcella. He led her to the empty side of the office and when he turned around, one of his blue eyes was green. He said to Marcella, “I hear Aundair is lovely this time of year,” to which Marcella answered, “Perfect for travelling.” Aarland then said, “Hello again, my Child.” Marcella answered, “Hello, Mother.”
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