Sessions 75, 76 and 77 - Murder at the Masquerade
Wed 13th Sep 2023, Wed 11th Oct and Thu 19th Oct
In-game timeline: UNKNOWN (7th day in the Shadowfell)
Our "Heroes" are impersonating some minor nobles at a masquerade ball that has a large number of vampires and lycanthropes. They feel a little uncomfortable.
After having a drink (or two!) their nerves settle a little and they disperse to talk to the various members of nobility, vampire families, gypsy-like vistani and were-folk who are mingling around the ball. They make polite conversation, but as and when the opportunities arrive they probe a little deeper regarding the possibility of a silver dragon being held in the mansion somewhere, as well as asking about the Cult of Malar and the Black Sun. They discover various snippets of information, including gaining a view into the complex politics and sexual proclivities and dalliances within and between the vampire families. They do manage to achieve this without annoying anyone, surprisingly, though Alwaith, in the guise of Dracomere Graysing, comes close (surprise, surprise!) when he presents a gift to the host, Countess Allani, of a silver music box, and then proceeds to reach over and snap it closed when Allani tries to listen to it!
After some time spent mingling and getting a feel for the atmosphere and undertones around the ball, the group decide their best bet is to sign up for the competitions, as, if they win, they will gain access to the menagerie which is likely to be where Agratheron is being held. Faith puts his name down for Cro's Swords (despite not really knowing what this game is), Sanada signs up for the archery, Solveig for the beast racing and Alwaith for the Vice Dice - apparently some form of gambling game with dice.
Cro's Swords turns out to be a word-based game, but people are allowed to help out the competitors. Faith and the rest of the group do well at this, managing not to come last in the first game, and then winning the next two rounds to eventually win the competition!
Having got off to a good start, the group are hopeful that most, if not all, of them will be able to get an invite to the tour of the menagerie. This hope is quickly dashed at the start of the archery competition when Sanada manages to fire an arrow straight into the ground in front of her on her first bow shot (a double 1, when shooting at advantage!). Despite better shots to follow, she is always playing catch-up and doesn't manage to win the competition.
Solveig, hitching up her skirts, prepares for the beast racing. This involves choosing a mount from a number of beasts - each of which have their own benefits and pitfalls - and racing them from the mansion entrance to the far fountain and back. Solveig - always looking for an opportunity to improve the odds in his favour - manages to persuade one of the mounts to perhaps hold back a little during the race. Luckily he also manages to not end up with that particular mount! The race is tight at the front, though the toad, ridden by the charismatic, but not particularly good rider, Charlie, and the lizard (who was the mount persuaded by Solveig to hold back) are a long way behind. Solveig, on the bear, almost catches up with Konrad von Zarovich who was riding the thestral but the vampire on the horse took the flag and won the race.
With only one of the party having invites to the menagerie tour, it is important for Alwaith to do well in the gambling. And he doesn't disappoint, taking the pot each time and ending the game with significant profit, as well as the prize money, and gaining an invite to the tour.
The final competition of the night is a duel. Solveig takes the initiative to talk to Mother Reclusia - the ancient vampire head of Allani's family - in a polite and subservient manner and suggests that if he were to sign up for the last competition - despite the rules only allowing one entry - it would make for an exciting game. The ruse worked and Solveig gets a second chance to gain an invite to the tour.
The duel is a real duel between two combatants, though the weapon choice is restricted, and each weapon has its own…idiosyncrasies. Luckily the duels are not to the death - only to a certain level of injury for the loser. Solveig manages to win her first duel easily, getting her to the final dual. She then proceeds to win that one too, though it is a lot closer than her first. This earns her a pass to the menagerie tour!
With three of the party heading off on the tour, Sanada takes the opportunity to talk to more of the guests, finding out a bit more about various subjects, including the Lupus guild membership of the Blood Council.
Meanwhile, the other three, along with other invitees follow Allani into the menagerie. Their vampire host takes them into the gardens and through the hedge maze - warning them not to stray - and into the 'safari park' of her menagerie. She spends some time proudly explaining how she came by the various inhabitants of her menagerie, though she seems keen to hurry the group along towards her 'prime exhibit'.
As they approach the final enclosure, one of the others on the tour catches sight of a dead body face down in the river that flowed through the menagerie! It is Marianna, one of the members of the vampire family, the von Zaroviches, and Konrad's wife. As Charlie quickly and boldly jumps into the river to haul her body out of the water, and Konrad starts to shout in horror and surprise at his wife's dead body, Allani tries to keep her composure and to organise the group to help recover the body and to gather everyone together to quickly take them back to the main house - the tour now forgotten.
Alwaith takes the opportunity caused by the disruption to go invisible. Of course, he doesn't mention this to his two 'friends', so they have no idea where he has disappeared to, but they do soon work it out, and both Faith and Solveig try to increase disruption within the tour group by pretending to help but just getting in the way. This buys Alwaith some time, and ensures that Allani and the others do not notice his absence.
Alwaith quickly heads to the final enclosure that the group was walking towards when the body was found. He manages to squeeze through the wide bars and walk towards the centre of the enclosure. He quietly recites poems that he suspects Agratheron would recognise, in order to not surprise the dragon, and to win his old friend (-to be) over as quickly as possible, as time is limited.
The old dragon sees through Alwaith's invisibility, as the warlock expected him to, and they have a brief conversation. As the tour group head back to the mansion with Marianna's body, Alwaith uses the acid that was provided by the portal guild to burn through the magic manacles that are holding the dragon within the enclosure, freeing him and allowing him to escape.
Faith and Solveig, still unsure as to exactly what Alwaith is doing, continue to try to hide his disappearance from the group as they are led back through the menagerie, the hedge maze, and back into the mansion. Alwaith meanwhile asks Agratheron to carry him to the entrance to the mansion, and turns the dragon invisible as well as himself to allow this to happen without anyone seeing them both. The silver dragon does this, and then flies away from the mansion, heading for Evernight. Alwaith has rescued his friend!
Alwaith, still invisible, enters the mansion, but this causes the invisibility to immediately disappear. Luckily no one sees him suddenly appear, but as he re-enters the main hall, the vistani Madam Zafira seems to notice that someone who should be on the tour has appeared through the front door. As Alwaith fills in Sanada on what has happened, he is confronted by Zafira, who challenges him on why he is not part of the group. He comes up with some bullsh*t story, but weaves in enough truths to almost convince Zafira.
As Faith and Solveig arrive with the rest of the tour group, and the rest of the partygoers find out about Marianna's death, our group of "Heroes" meet up again. Solveig, quickly catching on to the discussion between Zafira and Alwaith backs up his story, managing to allay Zafira's suspicions.
Allani tells everyone to remain where they are while she contacts the Blood Council Guard to investigate the death. After contemplating trying to escape, the group think better of it, and decide to wait it out. When the guards arrive, Faith boosts the likelihood of the group providing convincing arguments with the use of a boosted spell. The Blood Council Guard interrogate each of them, though the questioning is far from intensive.
With Agratheron rescued, the party decide to just wait it out, and not attempt to help or hinder the murder investigation. They don't need to lie as they were not involved in the murder, though Alwaith still needed to tell some lies about his activities once the body was found. However, it seems that all eyes are focussed on the head of the Lupus Guild - Damon Highburn - who is eventually arrested for the murder. Soon after, the party guests are allowed to go home, and the party breathes a sigh of relief as they travel back to Evernight in their carriage. A successful night!