No Place Like Home
The journey home is a swift one as Marius summons air and water elementals to help speed the Promise along. Upon return to Cothrom the group finds Sean Hopper waiting for them. He gives Arbin a gold pouch from Sual and tells the group that Baz sent him to escort the group to see him. He leads the group past Baz's warehouse where the fight arena is housed bringing them to a new building that was previously a run down hovel. They find Baz standing there with Zerik Tajny and a Halfling woman the group does not recognize. Baz thanks Sean, giving him a message to deliver and let's him know he can take the rest of the night off. He then congratulates the group on a successful mission. After a brief introduction he sends Marius off with Zerik to get a tour of the arena and settled into his new quarters.
Baz introduces the group to Serenna Rioga, the favorite aunt of King Sheamus Rioga. She currently serves as his official scribe and translator. Baz was seated with her at the engagement party for Leanna Marshall. They hit it off and Baz set up the new building so they could open a messaging service here in Cothrom. He introduces her to the group calling Myrnin his "trusted Lieutenant" and tells her that this group will be running security for the messaging service.
After saying goodbye to Serenna Baz leads the group around the side of the building and into a separate entrance. Above the messaging service storefront is a story stories apartment. He tells the group that there is a room for each of them if they agree to work as security for the messaging service. He tells them he needs specialized security because important information will be flowing through that storefront. He then shows them a hidden passage that leads under the building. There is a storage area with large crates and a tunnel that leads out to the ocean under the docks. He explains that this is where cargo that cannot be brought in through conventional means enters the city. Running this operation is part of the deal.
Fox in the Hen House
The group spends their first week back in Cothrom attending to their new Bastion. They have a lucrative week running the fence and begin reinvesting in the space. They manage to hire Aidan, Annabel Chase's younger brother, to work the Fence in their absence. He proves to be great at keeping inventory and keeping the books. He's also personable with the various captains who bring in cargo. On the word of Scian they also hire Toby, a local who has done various jobs around town such as bouncer in Sual's casino, as a Guard for the Bastion. The group also hires folks to build a temple addition onto the Bastion which is built in an agnostic way allowing the entire party to worship as needed in the space. Scian has promised to use his network to find them an acolyte to see to the maintenance of the temple. During the week Lorelei heads to Northpoint alone to meet her cousin on a "family matter" leaving only a note for the group.
As Myrnin meets with Baz to deliver his cut of the Bastion profits, they discuss Myrnin's continued surveillance of Sean. It is believed he has some connection to the agent of the Grey Wolf operating in Cothrom. With Sean showing no signs of bad behavior since Baz hired him, Baz has lost his patience. He tells Myrnin to get to the bottom of the mystery using whatever means they deem necessary. The group devises a plan to provide Sean with a fake message that would indicate a weakness for Baz, hoping this will prompt Sean to attempt to get the message to his contact. They enlist the help of Sual and Scian along the way to make it all seem real. To their dismay, Sean delivers the message to Baz immediately as instructed. While the group begins to make alternate plans, Myrnin continues to tail Sean. After spending some time at Sual's he heads home, however, shortly thereafter Myrnin sees him leave again, appearing to head out of town. Myrnin follows with the group tracking him via the blood he had given to Bluud.
Not as He Would Seem
As Sean arrives at the drop location where Myrnin had previously seen him receive a letter from the agents of the Grey Wolf, Myrnin confronts him with a Zone of Truth spell. During their brief interaction he drops his Disguise Self revealing that it is not Sean after all but rather Patrick Feeney, Carson's roommate. However, "Patrick" now has a Severni accent marking him as the Grey Wolf's agent and not a dock worker from Cothrom. The rest of the group arrives just in time to see him throw a poison dart at Myrnin which just barely misses the mark. As battle ensues "Patrick" uses a spell wrought tattoo to summon a Maurezhi demon to his side. The demon proceeds to raise the dead body of Argus as a Ghast. The group realizes they are fighting this battle in the same place they fought Argus when they first arrived in Cothrom.
"Patrick" and his demonic allies fight well, with "Patrick" utilizing strong poisons on his weapons. However, the group is able to take them all down without any casualties. Upon searching "Patrick's" body they discover quite a few handy items as well as two letters.
5 remaining darts - 5 CP each
A pair of dice - 1 SP
Thieves' Tools - 25 GP
Varya Kolar made dagger - worth 4 GP
1 vial of serpent venom poison - 200 GP
6 Gold Pieces, 12 Silver Pieces
Ring of Protection
Ring of Mind Shielding
+1 Studded Leather Armor
A previously open letter
The unopened letter he retrieved prior to battle
Family Ties
The unopened letter appears blank when opened. This matches what Myrnin previously saw. They believe this note is enchanted so that only "Patrick" can read it, appearing blank to anyone else. The second letter was not similarly enchanted and appears to be more personal in nature rather than orders from the Grey Wolf. The message reveals his name is Dominik and is from someone named Tanwen.
Dominik,
So little Myrnin is still alive. Suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Working for Baz certainly is a wrinkle. I vouched for you with the boss, as did your sister, after the Carson debacle. You have your second chance. If you can avoid killing Myrnin I'll consider your debt paid. But know this, while Varya may continue to plead on your behalf, I do not have that same soft spot for family. If you fail again you'll get nothing but silence from me. I didn't put in all this work to become the right hand of the Grey Wolf to throw it away for you or anyone.
Tanwen
The group learns that Tanwen is Myrnin's long lost sister and Dominik is Varya Kolar's brother as well as the agent of the Grey Wolf responsible for what happened to Carson as well as orchestrating the attack on the group by Argus. While this answers many questions, it seems to create several more.
The Party Reaches Level Eight
The party reaches level eight.