The Morning After
We returned to the party in the Dragon Inn, drinks still within reach, the weight of the mornings violence settling in. Luxor was dead. Nobody said it plainly, but nobody needed to.
The cover-up had held — for now. No word of the murder had reached the streets.
As they left the inn, they passed Luxor’s shuttered shop. Outside it sat a black carriage, unnatural in its gleam. Six Dragonborn stepped out — scarred, disciplined, built for this kind of work. Behind them came two-headed hounds, and dragged from the carriage, a pale feral man with a large nose, wearing a blinding hood covering his eyes. This was once a man but over the years he had been transformed into a Hunderthrawl.
The party watched just long enough to understand what they were looking at. Then they moved on.
Preparations — Escape and Disguise
With the masquerade approaching and the city growing dangerous, the group split their attention.
At the tailors they collected their finery and masks — appearances would need to hold for at least one evening. Then they turned to the question of leaving Godmere entirely.
The air docks were too expensive. Negotiations stalled and their coin wouldn’t stretch far enough without risk.
The harbour proved more useful. Through a contact among the sailors, they arranged tentative passage aboard a merchant vessel bound toward Rivergard, departing at dawn, 6am. Imperfect and indirect — but viable. The plan wasn’t committed, but it was there if they needed it. For the price of 330 silver.
The Masquerade — Palace and Intrigue
As night fell, Benny LeBeau and Blastran Starweave entered the palace, dressed for the occasion and hidden behind their masks. They used their signet rings as entry.
The masquerade was everything it promised — candlelight, music, nobles drifting through the hall with their identities concealed beneath elaborate disguise. The King stood among them, crowned in gold and lion imagery, the centre of gravity in a room of power. Zog and Callie were there too, Zog having brought her along as a friend — Callie had always wanted to attend.
Benny LeBeau took a risk and seated himself in Luxor’s place at the dinner table. Questions followed immediately. Luxor’s absence was remarked upon. Suspicion stirred. Benny deflected with careful half-truths, keeping the fiction alive, but the cracks were forming.
Blastran Starweave slipped away from the main hall, disguising himself as a servant and moving through kitchens and back corridors. Servants talked where nobles wouldn’t. Luxor’s absence was known, his presence had been expected, and his disappearance was already troubling the wrong people.
Danton
Through careful maneuvering and magical communication, Benny LeBeau drew his brother Danton LeBeau away from the court.
Alone, Benny laid it out plainly — the danger they were all in, the Ghost Walkers, the path toward exile. Danton stood at the threshold of initiation into something he did not fully understand.
He was given a choice: walk away from everything he knew, or remain, and perhaps become an ally within the darkness.
Danton asked for time to think.
It was left unresolved.
The dance was just beginning as the session came to a close.
Cinders — The Devil and the Sinner
While the palace played its games, Barnaby, Strom, and Bronn descended into Cynders — the underbelly of Godmere.
They found the Devil and the Sinner, a den thick with smoke and quiet menace. Blood on the floorboards. Deals made in murmurs. They drank, listened, and gathered what they could — whispers of the Order of the Old Gods (Cult of Orcus) moving through the city, recruiting and watching.
Then, with poor but enthusiastic judgment, they purchased 6 Fey mushrooms from the bar.
They took them.
The Spunny
The mushrooms beginning to work, the trio made their way to The Spunny — a crazy underground tavern with Heavy war music and an underground fighting arena. Entry required a code. They spoke the work “Tophat”
Inside, the world transformed. Stone halls thundered with music. Fighters warmed up in sand-filled pits. Patrons drank and gambled and watched with hungry eyes. Murals on the walls pulsated and danced with light. Smoke and lasers filled the industrial 3 tiered building
The group entered themselves into the fighting pits — three against three, facing a team of dwarves. The odds were not in their favour. They bet 100 gold each on themselves regardless, the prize for winning a horse for Strom.
They had fancied taking a fight against a mysterious character in the clothes of a Reaper but we’re put off when they heard the odds
They went to watch from the balcony when they spotted a figure in a red cloak approach a older elvish woman in a blue dress in a corner snug. The figure in red slipped something under the table and between the beats in the music the party pulled out one word of conversation “Rubies”
The figure in red got up and left, the party followed but were interrupted by their fight being called
The party got into the circular fighting pit, unarmed ready to fight their opponents to mercy.
Then the mushrooms peaked.
The dwarves across the pit shifted at the edges of perception, reshaping into something altogether stranger — a Myconid Sovereign, an Ankheg, a Myconid Adult. The arena swam. Confidence surged. Restraint evaporated.
Bronn stepped forward first.
Session ended at the start of combat — Round 1, Turn 1.
Initiative Order: