- The party exited the abandoned temple and observed billowing smoke on the other side of the Grey Citadel city- some building in the town was on fire.
- They headed over to the smoke and were stopped by Dharan guards who had blocked off the streets near the burning building.
- Town Watch and civilians were running a bucket brigade while the Dharan soldiers guarded them.
- Avari got one of the Dharan guards to explain that a building with food supplies had been torched – he stated that there was a rebellion in town, led by a one-armed fox and a blind beggar.
- He was upset that the Grey Citadel residents weren’t more grateful for the safety and protection offered by the Dharan Empire.
- The party moved on from the fire, carefully making their way through the market places, avoided patrols, and noticed that most of the shop tents were closing and the Dharan “brute” squads were shaking down the merchants with shouts of “This will teach you to support a rebellion against the Dharan Empire!’
- The party was concerned about going back to the Inn because they believed that Keledeck and Karyn would make another attempt to get the Book of Counted Shadows, and maybe Bride as well.
- Instead, they decided to head to the Bath House for respite and recovery.
- As the party arrived at the Bath House, a female gnome was exiting. She had pink hair with ponytails and was laden with tools. She engaged with the party and apologized for using up all of the pink hair dye. Kriick introduced himself as the captain and she introduced herself as Oberlee.
- She grumbled that she could fix anything and regularly helped merchants and residents with plumbing issues, broken items, broken locks, etcetera, but they would not allow her to be viewed as a craftsman and awarded a stall in the crafting house.
- Instead, she complained that she was relegated to the open-air market and had to work out of a tent, which she further explained was outrageous given that she had an airship docked up at the Grey Citadel.
- When questioned, she stated that she was the captain of the airship but wasn’t allowed to access it after the D’Haran Empire arrived.
- She promised the party that she would reward them if they could regain access to the airship for her.
- The party acknowledged her request and confirmed where to find her, but didn’t fully believe that she was actually the airship captain.
- Oberlee scampered off, and the party entered the Bath House, meeting Zarra Gabor and Kia Gabor, the owners of the Bath House.
- Jon Marston and Kiervasan paid for the aromatherapy, which would boost CON for 24-hours.
- The others either took a long-rest only or took tea on the deck.
- As the party was escorted to their respective rooms, they discovered that the blind old man was in one hot tub room, and the Crimson Cloaks were in two other rooms.
- Kate and Kamvase arrived and entered the room with the old man.
- Kriick and Sun Feng snuck around and both observed assassins-like individuals hiding in the bushes around the Bath House.
- The Crimson Cloaks left the Bath House.
- Kriick woke up Kiervasan regarding the assassins, and he and Kiervasan went out to carefully explore.
- During the exploration, the assassin attacked.
- Kate and Kamvase yelled that the Dharan Empire was upon them. Kate, not aware that the party was in the Bath House, cast Web, blocking a hallway. She and Kamvase ran out the backdoor.
- The party battled the assassins and eventually killed three and captured one.
- During the interrogation with the assassin, they found out that the Master of the Thieves Guild, a Half-orc, had sent the assassins to kill the party. When pressed with threats of poking out his eyes, he said that the Assassins guild was headquartered under the city, within the sewers. He further explained that the secret lair was near coffins and crypts. He welcomed death and wanted the party to kill him. The party refused and instead told him he was coming into the sewers with them.
- The assassin was distraught and said he couldn’t because doing so would jeopardize his soul.
- He explained that hundreds of sewer entrances exist, but only a handful of the entrances go anywhere. He offered to show the party the correct entrance if they promise to let him go.
- He further explained that his fear of going into the sewers was that it would be a violation of his “deal” he made for the afterlife.
- After some religion checks, the party remembered that the spirit and the soul may separate when the body dies. Spirits that are separated from the soul remain in the ethereal plane, near the dead body. The souls head to the Necropolis, the city of souls, where they wait for further travel to the afterlife. If they had made promises to demons or evil devils, those demons and devils would send for their soul at the Necropolis. If they had served Gods, eventually the Gods would come to collect their souls at the Necropolis.
- The party bound and gagged the assassin, and cast Invisibility on him. They walked him through the city and he showed them to one of the five sewer grates that would lead to the crypts.
- After the assassin showed them the grate, Kiervasan had Avari drop Invisibility, untied the assassin, walked him out to a public thoroughfare, and announced quite loudly, so the people in the city would hear, that the party was “very grateful for the help”, and made other statements that would likely destroy the assassin’s reputation among the thieves guild.
- The party then entered the sewers, which were filled with nasty, dirty water. There was horse dung, broken barrels, decaying cloth, broken bottles, and other refuse swept from the streets above down the sewer grates. In short, the sewers reeked and were very moldy and slimy. The party immediately encountered two Otuyph, which were basically trash monsters eating the sewers’ slop.
- The party defeated the monsters, and the session ended.
