Session 30

### Summary

The Amber Order infiltrates a city, infiltrates its government, and then finds that Tannivh infiltrated it first. Also, Helio gets a new ring (chop chop).

## NPC Appearances

### Mentioned

Tannivh, Zvezda

The pass behind them, the valley in front, and the coast visible in the distance, the party beheld the vast city. It was walled in, not as fortified as Onotara's, but there were guards ahead and a tide of people turning back. Some people were exiting the city as well.

The party voluntold Caeli to go ask people why they were leaving, and she got sidetracked talking to a shoemaker and bought a pair for three silver. He told her that the last moon had apparently been seven hundred years ago. She walked alongside the wagon to break them in.

The party kept moving toward the gate, even though everyone else was turning around and leaving the city. Gossamer talked with a family of gnomes who were leaving the city. They said everyone was leaving to be safe, because they had just started preventing people from entering the city yesterday. They made it out of the pass, where the sky was cloudy and there was less snowy.

Caeli led Kevin to the side, out of the flow of traffic, and Mavka tried to convince two guards to let them into the city, to no avail, and when she tried to talk to their superior, Captain Greg of the Baldirth Guard, they were also sternly told no. Instead, they left to go follow along the city wall. Mavka spotted someone hiding behind a boulder, someone human, and Gossamer tried to talk to them.

Eventually he told them that his name was Arthur, accidentally, and Karaa offered to cast an illusion to get the party to a sewer grate that Arthur mentioned. It looked old, like it wasn't in use anymore, and was deserted. There were steel bars covering the grate, but Helio pulled them off their hinges effortlessly, then wedged them shut again.

Karaa cast a light spell on Caeli's new shoes. Caeli was ecstatic about it, and ran circles around the room. Arthur tried to stay ahead but within range of Caeli's light. Rats and bats squeaked distantly as they traveled through the tunnels, eventually branching out. The party convinced Arthur to stay with them, and Helio was able to sense where they needed to go and led everyone through the tunnels to an exit.

The party had a hard time convincing Arthur that they were good people because they were terrifying, and also because they probably weren't good people. Helio led them to a sewer grate that they could escape from. Mavka cast heat metal on the grate, Helio cut through it with a dagger, and Caeli levitated it up so that they could exit quietly.

Arthur left, and the party started looking for an abandoned building to stay in. On the outskirts of the city, Caeli found a boarded-up red brick house with a disused chimney that had been run down for years. The wardrobes were full of clothing, tall and masculine, so Mavka changed out of her autumnal robes and smeared her face with some powder she found in a box. They decided to split up; Gossamer and Zeema would stay and rest at the house, while Helio, Caeli, Mavka, and Karaa would go scout out the rest of the city.

There was a marketplace with some temples and buildings, some taverns, but most places were closed. Helio and Caeli talked with a merchant, Peter, who was selling preserves. They asked him a couple questions about the city: he said that the city was governed by a council in their tower, and that they were the ones who had set up the evacuation. Apparently the evacuation and quarantine was rather uncharacteristic.

Mavka cast detect poison and disease, but found nothing out of the ordinary. There were a couple billboards that had a notice posted by the Circle of Baldirth that nobody would be allowed back into the city for a week. After that, she and Karaa went to a components' shop, called Cassandra's Components, where an elf woman with bright red hair was selling many components to people. She told Mavka that the moon was supposed to act like an amplifier for magic, but she wasn't sure about the area of the effect or what all it would entail.

Helio and Caeli investigated the Council's Tower. Benegyn talked to them and said they'd probably be able to get the group in by the end of the day. Mavka talked to an old lady who was exiting one of the component shops and, with Karaa's help, learned that the moon might be happening midday tomorrow, but didn't learn the exact day.

When they met back up, they discussed the council: Molzod was a white dragonborn, Acron brass, Chinse green, and Grox a white dragonborn. The party decided that Helio, Caeli, Karaa, and Zeema would go talk to the council, while Gossamer and Mavka would stealthily scope out the council's offices.

When the four of them arrived, Benegyn greeted them and led them up. Mavka cast pass without trace and she and Gossamer snuck in behind them. The group of four went into an el'vator whilst the two cousins caught the next lift. The council's chambers were pristine; well-lit, with a fireplace and sofa. There were windows with a view of the entire city. The chamber was crescent-shaped. None of the council member

Meanwhile, Mavka and Gossamer were climbing thirteen flights of stairs to get to the top of the tower. Mavka was able to realize that the tower had more than thirteen floors, so she found some stairs and started up them. Gossamer was having a tougher time of it. Eventually, they got to the thirteenth floor, but found it blocked by a brick wall. Gossamer cast silence and Mavka kicked the wall so hard that she broke her foot on it. Luckily, her scream was silenced by the spell.

The bronze dragon, Achron, thanked them for coming on such short notice, but they didn't seem to believe the story that Helio and Caeli had prepared. Helio noticed that Achron seemed hesitant about the decision to send everyone away from the city. Karaa and Zeema seemed to be catching onto something. Helio felt like he could trust Grox.

Zeema was nervous. She said that things weren't as they seemed. Then, when Chinse spoke for the first time, dismissing them, Caeli realized that his voice was familiar: it was Tannivh's. They made to leave the building, but Gossamer messaged Helio for help, and he made the excuse of having to use the bathroom to slip away and then cast pass without trace on himself to find the stairs.

Mavka tried twice to dispel the magic on the brick wall, to no avail. Gossamer messaged Zeema and Karaa for help, so Karaa dimension-doored up to them. When she arrived, she mended Mavka's broken foot. Then, Gossamer used the Eyes to see the floor above them, and found a rift; it was more of a portal, like something made on purpose.

Meanwhile, Helio found himself on the thirteenth floor with Tannivh. The two of them left the building via the back way.

After a quick discussion between the rest of the group, they realized Helio was missing. Karaa swept Mavka off her feet and dimension doored them to the bottom of the tower, where they met Zeema and Caeli. Karaa tired of waiting for Gossamer, so she cast misty step to retrieve her.

After that, they decided to go around back to see if they could find Helio and Tannivh. They followed until the trail ended, chasing them for about 40 minutes. They stopped when the trail ended, with someone, presumably Tannivh, standing under a streetlight. Gossamer made a prayer to Zvezda, and lunged at him but fell short.

She landed at Helio's feet. There was a new ring on his hand.