Open Books

Leona walks back(6:37) to the tavern with Roman in the early hours of the morning. He gives her a beautiful rapier, and tells her to stay with her new friends, for her own safety's sake.

Meanwhile(12:56), in Leona and Deirdre's room, Deirdre and Eachthighern say their goodbyes. Leona returns(16:01) and meets Amaryllis. To cheer Deirdre up, she sings her a song from her childhood, called "You Are My Sunshine".

In the morning(23:07), Maudit is the first to wake up. He finds a notice board, and investigates. There is an offer by Lord Theo to double any bounties redeemed during the week of the festivities leading up to his wedding. There are 4 bounties left:

* one for Agatha's Home for Children, for 30 gold pieces, to investigate some missing children
* one from the Crownsguard for 20 gold pieces, to investigate a guard who went missing in the nearby woods
* one from the city guard to deal with goblins terrorizing caravans coming into the city from the south
* one is to find a person named Andromeda Skyseeker, and return her alive

He takes the last two with him, tearing up the goblin bounty, and gets some breakfast, while he chats a bit with the bartender.

In Deirdre and Leona's room(41:11), Deirdre teaches Leona the Cure Wounds spell, and they head downstairs. They catch up with Maudit, and introduce him to Amaryllis. Leona wakes up Kesra, who tells them about her planned duel, and they plan their day. They head to the training ground near the temple of Kord, and find the old man.

The fight between Kesra and the old man(1:08:25) commences, with the two of them exchanging a few blows before he grabs her sword from her and stabs her in the chest with it. Her life flashes before her eyes, and she has a vision(1:20:04) of herself, defending Leona, Deirdre, and Maudit with divine power from faceless enemies. She awakens with her breastplate destroyed, and the old man gone. She discovers that her sword now says "Repent" and "Defend" in celestial runes across the blade.

The team heads out shopping(1:31:20). First up is Balthazar’s Bookstore. Maudit notices that there is Thieve's Cant outside, saying "Macierre must die". They meet Balthazar, who turns out to be a young Gnome with a mohawk and blonde handlebar mustache. Deirdre asks about books pertaining to immortality and those who seek it. He sells her 5 books for 2 gold pieces:

1. Ascension of the Gods (written in Celestial)
2. Celestial Beings (written in Celestial)
3. The Nine Hells and its Citizens
4. Most Magnificent Mages of the Ages

Maudit buys a book about Tiamat called "The Scaled Tyrant: the one-time ruler of the material plan" for 4 gold.

On their way to the next store(1:42:10), Maudit keeps an eye out for more thieves' cant, spotting a rock that says "Has anyone seen William?" with a description of a 9-year-old boy. They come to a clothing store called "The Needle and Thread". Leona and Deirdre buy dresses, and Maudit and Kesra buy some nice suits, after Kesra refuses to try on any dresses.

Next up(2:03:33) is the Black Dog Craftsman, run by 3 dwarven women: Meg, Keg, and Amarrah. They agree to try to fix it by the next day. Maudit sees more Thieves' Cant on the clothing store next door, saying that it's an easy mark, and it's owned by the crown. Underneath that, it says "Long live King Theo".

Deirdre picks up some cosmetics(2:22:51), and the head back to the inn for a nap. Deirdre asks Kesra to help her put some cream on her back, revealing very angry red burn scars down her back. Maudit approaches Conrad, the bartender, and asks him about any local thieves' guild, telling him that he had dealings with the thieves' guild in Wolfecrest. Conrad says "the Lady of the Hunt and the first Lord do not get along any more". She was a companion of Theo's, but sided with the crown when he requested her aid. He offers to discuss some possible work with Maudit at midnight.

After their nap(2:34:19), they discuss the jobs on the job board, and Kesra takes the two remaining job postings. The group decides to investigate the children's home. On the way, Maudit sees more Thieves' Cant, looking for more missing children, with descriptions of each. They find the home, and talk to Agatha, the owner of the home, who reminds Kesra of her caretaker. She directs them to Sister Brita, who tells Kesra that 9 kids have gone missing in the last 6 months. The ones who have disappeared have been the quiet ones, usually disappearing in the early afternoon, from the front yard.

Kesra finds an older kid(2:54:20) who tells her that one of the kids, named Kendel, claims to have seen a boogeyman or a witch. Kendel tells her that there was a tall man hanging around when one of the kids disappeared. The man had some kind of medallion with what looked like waves on it. On the tree outside, they find a religious symbol, consisting of 3 wavy lines, the symbol for Avandra. They decide to return to the tree the following day.

At midnight(3:14:43), Maudit goes and finds Conrad, who tells Maudit to go to the basement. There, he meets an Eladrin woman with long, deep blue cloak trimmed with fur, all her clothes in the same blue, half of hair is deep turquoise that fades to white toward the bottom. He tells her his name, and she recognizes his last name, telling him she met the woman who adopted him. She tells him her name is Venvyre, and he shakes her hand - it's cold as ice to the touch. She says she is a Winter Eladrin, native to the Feywild. She says that she belongs to an organization which protects things that should be kept secret. She then casts a spell on him. She speaks to him about Tiamat, and how her cultists wish to bring her back from the 9 Hells. She doesn't give him a job, but tells him to be careful, and gives him a dark obsidian coin with an S. She reveals to him that his mother wrote to her about him when he was an infant. She reveals that the name of her group is The Silence. She asks him if he's been approached by Zanelor or cultists of the Scaled Tyrant, and he says no. They chat a little more, and Maudit heads back up for a drink with Conrad.