City of Coin/High Town

Day 30

While enjoying an evening meal in the Silver Arrow Inn, the party is interrupted by a commotion outside. They look out and see a shadowy, demonic figure attacking a young nobleman. The party intervenes and defeats the demon with some timely aid from the city watch.

The noble is Marek Golrianna the son of Becca Golrianna (leader of the guild of silversmiths, council member and head of a wealthy noble family). Marek promises a reward if the party would visit the family mansion in High Town.

The city watch meanwhile were searching the area for clues and find a pentagram in a side alley. It's been drawn with expensive gold paste and there are tracks of someone wearing soft-soled (posh) shoes.

Day 31

The party arrives at the Gorianna estate but are not welcomes and are directed to the servant's entrance. After some persuasion they eventually are lead to a reception room to wait for Marek. He hands over a reward but also offers a job to investigate the assassination attempt suggesting that the Charlsons are responsible. This need to be cleared with his mother but she refuses -- the party overhearing a heated argument. Marek decides to hire the party anyway, handing over 4 tickets to the Charlson family's fancy dress ball and suggests starting the investigation there.

On the way back to the inn, a city watch runner intercepts them and asks for their aid.

A supposedly empty workshop in Silver Street where all the silver smiths work has blood coming from under the door. The party gingerly opens the door to investigate.

The room is lined with grotesque corpses of strange and unnatural animal hybrids in large glass jars on wooden workbenches. One of the jars is broken, its bloody contents leaking onto the floor. In the backroom and mound of failed experiments has foudn some semblance of life and it is attacked.

With the building made safe, the party questions the neighbours but they didn't see much only a "rich toff" leaving the building on occasion. The party head to the city hall to find the current owner. It is owned by Izotz Kattalin who purchased it two years ago using freshly minted Forsy City Bank coins, from the Charlson family.

They head to Under Town to ask Mickey if the name is familiar. He says not but does say that two years ago they had to drive off a wizard conducting experiments in the sewers. The sewers are investigated and some hybrid rat-cat skeletons are recovered but no other clues are found.

The party heads to the university to ask Esmer if she recognizes the name. She says it is familiar and linked to some scandal from 4 or 5 years ago. The university records on Kattalin have been sealed and Esmer suggests Eskame Jalo the head of the magic department would know more and makes an introduction. Jalo acknowledges that Kattalin was ejected from the university for conducting unethical experiments but insists that any further investigation is conducted by his department. Puzzled by this the party presses for more information and Jalo casts suggestion to persuade them to drop it and to stay clear of his old rooms and the university and his city home -- Morty is affected but Yenkas is not.

Morty and Yenkas argue about what to do next but make their way to Kattalin's city home. A passerby warns that the home is haunted and Yenkas persuades Morty to intervene. A ooze is trapped in the basement, banging on the door. Once the ooze is defeated the cellar is found to contain more hybrid experiments and glass jars and a mostly empty jar of gold paste, and a letter, signed by "EJ", commending Kattalin for his successful experiments but emphasising the need for discretion.

An alchemist identifies the gold paste as tallow and gold dust and says a few days could determine the type of tallow used.

Day 37 -- The Charlson's Ball

A carriage is hired, fancy dress is donned and the party head to the ball. Barros as a fantastical bird of prey witha peaked mask and red-yellow feathers. Mortlac as a badger with a snouted mask with teeth. Gwin in subdued garb with a hawk mask.

They arrive "fasionably late" as the majority of the guests are also arriving. The party circulates around the party for a while before spotting Wendal Charlson discussing economics with a small group. The attempts to join the conversion are not particular successful but they do learn the Wendal is upset by the idea of competion.

An out of place person in travel clothes is spotted. He's directed to a side room and Barros negotiates with the guard to gain entrance (while Gwin sneaks in behind the guard's back). The mystery person is waiting for Valerie Charlson, the oldest daughter of Wendal btu is pursaded to hand over an envelope recovered from a "job" at the Golrianna's. Barros conceals the envelope down his shirt and he and Mortlac return to the party.

Gwin sneaks through the servants corridors and along the way she notices Marek kissing a young woman later identified as Sandra Charlson. Barros opens the envelope in the bathroom and it's a business plan by the Golrianna's for a new bank targetting small businesses and working class people. It's full of detailed figures which Barros can't understand.

The party continuous with a dinner of fancy foods and shallow conversation and then dancing. Gwin is approached by a young nobleman for a dance but she doesn't impress.

As the guests depart the party decides they have enough information and leave as well.

Day 38

The party head to the Gorianna mansion where they meet Marek and his mother Becca Golrianna. She is outraged at the theft of the business plan and attempts to hire the party to protect her economic interests. The party aren't keen but do eventually agree to find any direct evidence that the Charlsons are behind the assassination attempt on Marek. A fee of 3000 gp per person is agreed.