Session 27

* The Badger's Growl (a comfortable, mid-range inn owned by a friendly dwarf woman who sometimes sings for her guests)
* The Pantheon (a very high-end theatre, attended by the upper echelons of Tamalir society)
* *(Unnamed High-End Drinking Establishment)* (Expensive Tavern in the well-to-do district of Tamalir)

### PCs:

Arik, Dandy (Goldie, Gar and Tivram are being run as NPCs)

### NPCs:

* Vandamir (Human Noble who dabbles in alchemy. Has a somewhat flexible approach to morality)
* Chance Wonderway (Dandy's father, currently missing most of his mind due to the schemes of the Silver Crescent)
* Morgan (Well-to-do Orcish Casino Owner, uses an elephant as a motif)
* Calise and Caleese (Morgan's two wives. Both very attractive Orc ladies)
* Ciradyl (A young elven dancer formerly of the Great Travelling Show, who has found herself persona non grata after Zorsha's actions)
* Jo'hen (Mysterious agent who attempts to arrange a meeting with the PCs)

**Previously...**

## And Now...

Following the group's escape from Crescent Keep and battle in Blackwing Swamp, a week passes, giving our heroes plenty of time to recuperate in Tamalir. At this time, they are mostly staying in 'The Badger's Growl', a mid-range inn owned by a very friendly Dwarf woman, who is sometimes known to sing for her guests.

While Arik is recovering, Gar leaves the city temporarily, returning to his family in order to ‘pay the piper’ (presumably for the reinforcements he brought to get the others out of danger in Blackwing Swamp). Goldie and Tiv both come and go, keeping in touch but dealing with personal projects/issues. Arik is, of course, laid up and is going nowhere, while Dandy is pretty much stuck taking care of her father, who's unable to take care of himself.

The group looks over its combined resources, and see that reserves are running low. At this rate, they're not going to have enough to arrange for transport out of Tamalir. With that in mind (and unable, for the moment, at least to travel freely), they consider looking into what sort of money-making opportunities the city has to offer.

A brief investigation into the local criminal underbelly reveals that Tamalir has three main thieves' guilds, each with their own agendas:

* (The Paupers Guild) Beggars, Homeless and street urchins - Live in drains/sewers, can be contacted by a letter hand-off at a specific drain location.
* (The Order of Ignobles) A fairly typical thieves' guild. Dabble in all sorts of Illegal activity - but especially Illegal trade, smuggling and petty crime.
* (The Lodge) A small and elite guild of burglars who make a game of stealing from nobles There is a romantic fascination to getting robbed by them. They have direct ties to a mercenary company called ‘The Bannermen’, a fully legal elite bodyguard/security force, Employing Bannermen is said to ensure you won’t be targeted by a ‘Lodger’.

After a little more recovery time, Arik begins to feel strong enough for spell-casting. He performs a ritual to trace the location of Chance's mind. The spell backfires (perhaps his recovery was not as complete as he believed?), which winds up swapping Arik's mind into Chance's body. From there, he is able to locate a magical tether or sorts, and jumps to the location of Chance's mind.

Chance's mind is located inside a purple gem/egg. Looking out, he can discern moving, hilly countryside. Arik makes note of some landmarks before attempting to contact Chance himself. Initially, Chance is distrustful and suspects a trick, but when Arik mentions Dandy, he snaps to attention, "Stay away!" he warns, "He is too dangerous!" Arik attempts to use the connection to guide Chance back into his own body, but the sorcery holding him in place is stronger than Arik can overcome. Once back in his own body, Arik and Dandy look over the clues. They manage to figure out the gem was travelling North through the hilly area known as The Cartmounts and appeared to be passing, but not heading to, Castle Arthrynn.

With that done, Arik suggests something a little less strenuous and suggests a night at the theatre. Dandy and Arik dress up in their finest and attend a very upper-class theatre, ‘The Pantheon’. While they're there, they try to look out for suspicious types who might be looking to prey on the nobles there. Unfortunately, they have no luck, but Dandy overhears a rumour about a local noble named Vandamir who dabbles in alchemy.Apparently, he recently attempted to brew a large batch of love potions, but it came out defective. Despite this, he had no compunctions about selling the stock on, and has flooded the markets in lower-class areas with the potion. The effect of this is a rash of odd and embarrassing situations, but as none of it really affects him, and he's got his money, he doesn't really care.

As this is happening, Arik has made a connection with a wealthy, well-dressed Orc who's been parading about the theatre with his two wives. Not only is he accepted without question in high society, he seems quite comfortable in this environment, something Arik has always aspired towards for himself. Arik introduces himself, and the orc identifies himself as Morgan, the owner of a local, high end casino. He introduces his wives to Arik as well, Calis and Caleese (KAL-is and Kal-EES) and invites Arik and Dandy to join him in his private box to watch the play.

Arik notes an elephant design on Morgan's cuffs, and the same design on his wives' brooches (elephants are not native to Terrinoth, and as a result, they are normally seen as exotic if they are known of at all). The company settles in to watch the play, discussing it as they watch. By their discussion, Arik discerns that it's classic piece that's very well-known to the audience. He tries to play it cool and fake knowing it, but tips his hand somewhat. This seems to endear him to one of the orc women, while the other finds it contemptible. At the conclusion of the play, Morgan offers Arik a job at his Casino, implying that great performers can make huge amounts of cash quite quickly there. They plan to meet up the following day.

While Arik schmoozes with the Orcs, Dandy notices a rather distraught Elf Woman ('Ciradyl') who is being shunned by the people at the theatre. Questioning her, she finds out that she used to be a dancer with the Great Show but, after Zorsha's attack on Dawnsmoor, no one trusts her anymore. She breaks into tears. She was just a minor entertainer in the Show and had nothing to do with its administration, but she’s bearing plenty of the blame.

She’s looking for new work, not willing to just dance for coins on the streets, so they venture to a nearby high-end drinking establishment (5silver minimum drinks) and Dandy attempts to talk the barman into trialing her on his stage. The barman is very reluctant until an unidentified patron steps in and with a few whispered words changes the barman's attitude. While Cyradil dances, the stranger from the bar joins Dandy at the table and offers a ‘gift’ - the painting of one of Chance's stories that she'd spotted in the Boutique nearly 2 weeks earlier. He says his name is **Joh’en** and he represents a group who just wants to have a meeting with Dandy. She replies that, in her experience, this sort of thing is always a trap, so Joh’en let’s Dandy choose the time and place. They make arrangements for a meet-up the next morning.