53: The Crow and His Shadow

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## Summary

### We Have the Party at Home

The gang makes it to the East Gate, where they find a queue forming to gain entry to the city. Cat notices that the guards are wearing gray rather than the customary blues worn by Lhoam police, who normally monitor the gate. Mujie, meanwhile, clocks some posters soliciting information about a group of adventurers, along with a crude drawing of a group roughly matching the party’s description. The poster mentions a Lieutenant Commander Kilgrave with the Ashen Hoods, who Cat knows to be a group of mercenaries employed at times by the high council or other nobles.

Down the line, Mujie also spots a group of impostors possibly posing as the party, though to what end, no one knows. Deciding they don’t want any scrutiny, the party resolves to wear disguises to talk to the mercs guarding the gate. Thus are six bizarre aliases born, and the party is ushered into Lhoam with Ashen Hoods-approved documentation.

### Brass Tacks

Seeking more information on the Hoods and why the Council is taking extra security measures, Cat remembers that the Diamond District is a hub for less than above-board business. On their way, the party makes a quick stop at a touristy tavern called Rhoddy’s and checks out a message board with a concerning number of missing persons fliers. They then make their way to the Diamond District in the southwest of the city, and come upon a bar called Brass Tacks. There, Mujie learns from the bartender Dani that his old pal Keller is a recent hire, and Tira tucks in to enjoy as much of the brunch menu as possible. Meanwhile, the gang spots some familiar faces: London, Landon, and Veleon, who instead of being at work, are arguing around a table at a bar at noon on a weekday.

The party approaches them and learns they’ve recently been canned: Landon for working too much, London for taking bribes from the Double Bulls gang, and Veleon for sticking up for London. While Landon tries to convince London to join him in beginning the appeals process to get their jobs back, Veleon alludes to their recent unemployment being more than it seems. He explains to the party that, following the recent increase in Ark flow, the High Council staged an emergency election, and subsequently tightened security around the city. They also claim that the slew of firings at Lhoam PD—including Chief of Police Yancie Glass—were meant to eliminate corruption within its ranks, but given who remains, Veleon isn’t convinced.

### Your Own Worst Enemy

Eventually, the three prepare to leave Brass Tacks, Landon having sufficiently spoiled London’s day drinking pity party. Before they make it out of the bar, however, Veleon advises that the party pay a visit to a certain antique shop in Uptown and ask about a book called “The Crow and his Shadow.” On the way out, however, the gang catches a glimpse of their impostors checking out the board outside. London offers to start a fight with them for some coin, but gets a bit more than he bargained for, and when Mujie steps in to deescalate things, he gets a full-on street brawl.

Knowing Lhoam has a strict no-combat magic policy, the group pulls their punches, but the courtesy isn’t returned. Curiously, the group of impostors—Lyra, Lupe, Kat, Vendi, Brak, and Marty—is happy to go all-out, halfway burning down Brass Tacks’ storefront in the process. Soon enough, a crowd forms, with people panicking and screaming for the authorities. Just as Mujie hits the deck, a group of Lhoam PD and Ashen Hoods arrive on scene, with the Hoods detaining the impostor party, and none other than Tayle himself taking the party into custody (with a wink and a nudge) at the Lhoam PD holding cells in Westwall.

### Home to Roost

Back in jail again, the party is left to twiddle their thumbs while Tayle delegates tasks to subordinates. Later, Mujie catches him fiddling with something in his coat pocket before settling at a desk and pretending to write a police report. Before long, the room is plunged into magical darkness, their cell doors are blown off the hinges, and the party finds themselves sucked into some kind of fully furnished luxury suite pocket dimension. As the room bobs like a ship at sea, they notice another old acquaintance: Crow, the antiques dealer, who asks them to hold their questions until they make it to their destination.

Fifteen to twenty minutes of awkward silence later, the party is deposited into the top floor of an old refurbished brick building—the Clocktower. Decommissioned for its original purpose, it instead serves as home base for the Blackbirds, a spy network operating out of Lhoam. Cat pings Pombo to ask what he knows about the Double Bulls and Ashen Hoods with the tablet, and Crow takes his place behind a stately wooden desk to debrief the party himself.

## Quotes

#### ***MOST WANTED:***

> *Information wanted on group of adventurers last seen in Lhoam during Helwan Moon. Adventurers travel with a large sentient cat. Report information to Lt. Comm. Kilgrave at Ashen Hoods East Headquarters.*
>
>

*—Information Wanted poster on the city walls*

#### ***LHOAM'S FINEST(?):***

> "Come on, London, this job is all I have!!"
>
>

*—Landon, at Brass Tacks*

#### ***THE NOSIEST MAN IN LHOAM:***

> "You can put it away, I know who you are."
>
>

*—Crow, on Eton's Celestine Collective pin*