TBSI Episode 2: Inkstone Meetup

## The Story

Keelo Ornus leads Lumi, Misha, Mirabella, and Valen down the hidden tunnel behind the dragon skull in his office. Valen brings up the rear to ensure everyone gets safely out of the room and shuts the secret door behind them. The tunnel is wood planked, windowless, dimly-lit from an unknown source, and narrow, revealing other secret doors into other rooms in the main branch of the Library.

The tunnel leads to a narrow staircase that leads to a more open room filled with sigils and signatures of those who have passed through before, which Keelo explains is jokingly called the Hall of Marks. Mirabella takes a mental snapshot of the room and its signatures for later research. Valen carves their name into the highest part of the ceiling. Lumi adds their name to the wall and takes a look around at the signatures. She notes a famous bard of a past era, Pelvis Hesrey, and a symbol of a lightning bolt with wings to each side of it. Misha takes note of two other druidic sigils and adds their own to the collection, one which is a pawprint in circles and one which is a leaf with pine trees in the leaf and flowers on either side of the pine tree.

Keelo activates a glowing crystal ball and leads them further down the passage to an unused store room. He then leads them through another secret door to another secret tunnel which leads under the street and away from the Library. They come out across the street at a door that leads to an alley from a one story building. Valen stops to take a look to see if they can spot the other members of The Thieves' Guild that they had noticed before and doesn't see any of them. Keelo then leads them a short walk away to The Inkstone Tavern.

We then cut over to Phoebe Leandre, who is in her library, The Fangs Respite Library. Phoebe sneaks up on some unsuspecting teens snickering at a romance book and bending the spine. She recognizes one of them as Nenny, whose mother has also come looking around the library. The teens are startled, causing one to take off, with the other two not far behind after Phoebe uses some gentle roasts on the teens. After they have beaten a hasty retreat and the book is returned undamaged to the shelf, Phoebe goes to close the library doors only to be met with a courier who has just arrived with a note from Sage Keelo Ornus, asking her to join him at The Inkstone Tavern as soon as she can. After closing the library and hanging up her scribal robes, she tidies her appearance, grabs her keys and purse, locks up the library using a magically based lock of the Scribal Order, and heads toward the Inkstone as requested, which is a decent distance from her library.

Cutting back over the the group being led by Keelo Ornus, the party does some looking around, selecting books, drinks, and snacks as they see fit, and join Keelo in a table toward the back. The party continues to discuss what to do with the newly identified Scroll Rods of Viz Kadesh. Before too long, Phoebe Leandre joins them after ordering a glass of wine. After everyone makes their introductions, Valen pulls out a chair for Phoebe to join them.

Keelo quizzes Phoebe on her draconic knowledge and how much she might know about Viz Kadesh. Unfortunately, she doesn't know of him. Valen puts a pause on the conversation for a moment to ask when Keelo sent for Phoebe and is displeased to know that he did it while someone was outside the door waiting to talk to him. Mirabella then questions Keelo's loyalty and where he falls on the spectrum of what he thinks should be done with the scroll rods. He eventually says that he thinks they should either be scattered so they stay apart, or bring them together in a place where they can be protected. Keelo says they could also get a lot of money for them or try to gather the other parts themselves.

Mirabella asks Keelo if he has any opinions about Councilman Nout, to which he replies he does not. Phoebe knows he did not reply to her request for funding and purses her lips at the mention of him. Mirabella has some knowledge of Councilman Nout running aide missions throughout the city that offer help to those in need and it's very clear that something is shady about those missions. The players are not aware of it, but the missions are a project stolen from a late councilmember that Nout had killed so he could take their place in the council.

Valen notices a large half-orc enter the Inkstone followed by a well dressed woman, followed by two more body guards. They immediately stare at the party's table upon entering the room. Valen, having entered into a staring contest, puts their feet up on the table out of spite. The human and the satyr bodyguards go back outside while the half-orc body guard and the woman approach the table. The woman sits down uninvited while the half-orc stands behind her. She introduces herself as Lyra. Lyra says her employer wants something they have, never mentioning The Scroll Rods of Viz Kadesh. She offers to pay a lot of money. Lumi starts plucking at their lute. Valen plays dumb - or just is dumb - and asks who it is that they want killed. Lyra doesn't go for it. Keelo is hyperattentive to the situation. She is clearly aware that Misha is in possession of the scroll rods. Mirabella tries to imply they work for the little people and can't just sell them. Lyra dodges the question about who she is employed by to get the scroll rods. Valen calls her out on being shifty and escalates things until she threatens them.

Phoebe, intrigued when Mirabella says they work for the people, decides they like the party members and casts a spell to push Lyra back in her chair and manages to push her a couple of inches and even moves the chair slightly. Phoebe dismisses her. Lyra goes from smiling to a dead look in her eyes and then she just starts laughing. Lyra makes a gesture with her hand and Phoebe spots part of a dragon cult symbol on her hand. Phoebe gives her an unsettling deer smile to show she isn't scared. When Lyra asks if they need more time, Mirabella suggests The Rotten Goose as a meet up point the following day to which Lyra replies, "We'll be in touch." Lyra goes to leave and Mira gives them a once over to see if she can connect them to Karsa Nout based on anything in their appearances. She finds nothing to connect the two, indicating they work for someone else. Lyra and the bodyguard leave.

Immediately after they leave, the table starts shit talking Lyra, who they all found very condescending and rude. Misha asks about the tattoos and Phoebe explains their knowledge of the topic of the tattoos. Mirabella looks to Keelo and suggests that Lyra's buyer might be in the mountains to the northwest. Keelo agrees that is possible. Mira then asks if he has any knowledge about how to mask an artifact so it can't be tracked. Misha suggests that she use shapeshifting while carrying the artifacts so that they become hidden beneath the shapeshifting magic.

Valen suggests pitting all the interested parties against each other and maybe the City Guard too. Valen knows people who would know people who might be able to help them hide the scroll rods, though they might run into some complications considering their past interactions with The Thieves' Guild. Keelo has a friend named Alyta who might be able to help them. Valen suggest setting up a bidding war. Mirabella takes it a step further and suggests setting up a community benefit event by the Rotten Goose, inviting all these different factions who want the artifacts but don't want the publicity of starting a bloodbath. Keelo checks to see if Phoebe is comfortable with the party. Phoebe responds very enthusiastically and Keelo leaves, promising to get in touch with his contact. Phoebe then asks what it is exactly, and Mirabella explains what the scroll and the rods are.

Phoebe invites the party back to The Fangs Respite Library to spend the night as the building is secured by the magic sigil lock that only members of The Scribal Order can open it.

At the end, it is revealed that Lumi created a musical ear worm for the half-orc body guard that will make him start humming because the song is stuck in his head and give the party a head's up in the future.

## Notable Characters

* Misha van Dyne
* Mirabella Rosehip Heartblossom
* Lumi
* Phoebe Leandre
* Valen Aloro
* Keelo Ornus
* Lyra
* Lyra's Body Guard

## Notable Locations

* The Drachen Falls Library
* The Inkstone Tavern
* The Fangs Respite Library