The Forty-Fourth Session

Arriving back in Myth Drannor, the Sentinels felt at ease. Yief had Kronlim start working on a canoe using the balrog horn, Shag found Jeph Kii'zl and commissioned him to build a new lute out of dragon scales and bone, and they all began to plan what would happen next. Hanolin visited them in the common area and told them he scryed on Herba and saw that she made it safely to Midfall. He mused about when the conflict would be over and he would get to see her again.

They then heard Melarra speak directly to their minds, saying to follow her when she left the room. She approached them and asked about their trip to the mountains, and Yief attempted to convince her that he had battled the phoenix there and was made champion when he was victorious, which she didn't believe after seeing Aoth and Halrek both hang their heads upon realizing his embellishment. She asked to hear more about it as she started leaving the room, and Yief kept talking as they followed her to her quarters. Once inside, she beckoned for them to be quiet, and cast Magnificent Mansion, inviting them inside.

Once inside, they began to discuss the issue of there being a mole leaking information to the Shadowborn forces. She deduced that the mole must be on the inner council, based on secrets that only they would know being among the information leaked. The group then developed a plan to fake her death as an excuse to interview everyone in the council one at a time and feed them false information that could cause them to slip up, and identify who was leaking the information. Melarra then remained in the Magnificent Mansion, while Halrek transformed into her and put on one of her nightgowns, but with greener skin akin to being poisoned.

They then called the council members, having Aoth casting a poison detection spell to make the scene more convincing, and said they were sure she was killed by whoever the mole was. After interviewing each member individually while Shag cast Zone of Truth, they deduced that Lorilla had knowingly taken action against the council, but got her to keep calm by telling her they were in on it and were the ones who killed Melarra, and the interviews were to save face. They then trapped her while her guard was down in a forcecage. Halrek got Melarra back out of the Mansion, and blinked her to where the confrontation was happening. Melarra then began to interrogate her, at which point Lorilla transformed into a female Shadowhunter, who calmly sat to wait out the duration of the forcecage without responding to any questions, including about the location of the real Lorilla. When Shag let the cage down to give Aoth a chance to cast Antimagic Field so they could capture her, she nearly escaped via ShadowWalk, but was caught by Halrek.

A fight broke out, and after she sustained some damage from being flanked and was subject to a fit of tapdancing from Shag, she ShadowWalked out of the room, appearing in the hall. Aoth then Banished her, giving them a minute to lay a trap for when she reappeared. While they were unable to force her into a bag of holding upon her return, Halrek was able to knock her prone, while Aoth stabbed his blade through her leg to pin her, and she was forced into a defensive position to avoid taking critical damage from a flurry of hammer strikes from Aoth and Yief. Melarra then charged a Phantasmal Killer, pointing it at the hunter's face, and once again asked where Lorilla was once Shag re-cast Zone of Truth. The hunter finally revealed that Lorilla was being kept alive in a cave outside the fortress.