Flock Together

The Runners (Larkin, Jasper, Goro, Raef, Roddy, and Red Wyn) arrived in Moorland, at Larkin's aunt's manor. Before knocking they investigated the area and spotted a halfling hiding in the bushes. Goro and Roddy recognized him as Gilford Noct, the rogue who had assisted them in robbing Mishka's estate long ago—the rogue who was really Ombre in disguise. However, they quickly determined that he was not Ombre this time around, but the real Gilford. He escaped before they could question him.

Larkin's aunt, Jasmilia, was expecting the gang and invited them inside. Wyn noticed something off immediately, and wanted away from Jasmilia, so she and Jasper left to find Green Wyn while the rest of the group stayed behind.

Jasmilia introduced the Runners to her young daughter, Din, and her husband, Peter. Larkin had heard that Jasmilia had three children, and asked what happened to the others. Jasmilia rather unemotionally relayed that her eldest son, Grigori, wandered away from her in a market when he was a child and she never found him again, and her second son, Bakir, was kidnapped by pirates in Calimport a year ago. Larkin's insight told her something was very wrong here, and she got the feeling Jasmilia had intentionally abandoned her children.

The family turned in for the night, but the Runners didn't sleep. In the middle of the night there was a pounding on the front door—Azriel, soaked from the pouring rain, demanding to know why Larkin had put herself in danger by coming to Moorland. As Larkin explained she was there to help her aunt, the gang heard a piercing scream from the second story and ran to investigate.

The screams belonged to Jasmilia. Peter had been murdered in bed, and she claimed Morgan Wyn had broken in and done it. Roddy cast Detect Thoughts and determined that Jasmilia had actually been the one to kill Peter. When he accused her, she attempted to dimension door away, but Azriel counterspelled her and she responded by simply fleeing out the window. Roddy took Larkin and dimension stepped after her; Goro left Din under Azriel's protection, took Raef, and dimension stepped after the others.

Jasmilia tried to escape, but the gang managed to subdue her. When she heard they planned to take Din from her, she told them they were doing Din a disservice by coddling her, and that the only way a child can be strong is to grow up alone. She confessed that she herself had been dumped on the streets to fend for herself as a child, and so that was what she did to her son—Goro.

The group was so stunned by this admission, they didn't react much at all, leaving Jasmilia with another opportunity to get away. She dimension stepped back to the manor, causing Goro to panic, figuring she was planning to take Din and leave. Roddy dimension stepped Goro to the manor to stop her. Azriel turned Din and himself invisible, and when Jasmilia detected them anyway, Azriel put her to sleep magically as Goro and Roddy wrestled her to the ground.

Larkin and Raef caught up to the rest of the group. Roddy insisted they tie Jasmilia up and gag her, but Larkin objected. They agreed instead to keep Jasmilia under close watch by Azriel, who could counterspell her if she attempted to use Dimension Door again.

Wyn and Jasper returned and took up guard duty outside the house, and Raef took up babysitting duty with Din, leaving the rest of the Runners to try and figure out what to do with the woman now claiming to be Goro's mother.