Session 19: The Darkness on Cauldron Hill Report

The party agreed to meet with Morgan Cippiano, the head of the Family, a growing power in the underworld. Morgan wanted an explanation of why the party interfered with his wand smuggling operation a few days earlier, and in exchange pointed out that the missing component to their case against Reed Macbannin was a man named Cillian Creed, Reed's butler and cutout for his operations. Creed was, however, deceased, having died at the party's hands a few days ago as the shadow man that had been attacking them throughout their investigations.   Using Speak with Dead on Creed's corpse revealed that Nilasa Hume was killed, not on anyone's orders, but as a spur of the moment consideration to protect Reed's secrets. It also revealed a name of someone operating beyond the border with the Bleak Gate, Leone Quital.   Mairi Lomashney took the opportunity to discuss her uncle Liam's newest business arrangement with her family. Her stepmother, Bronagh, wasn't terribly happy to see her, but her father, Lord Ciaran, took his daughter's concerns somewhat seriously, even if he couldn't help slipping in a few cutting remarks about her somewhat-chequered past.   The combination of clues, combined with testimony from the stagecoach courier used by Creed to deliver letters to the Arson Brothers, allowed the party to get the information they needed to place Mayor Macbannin at the heart of a conspiracy to co-opt Flint's growing industry for an unknown purpose, destroying Risuri property and lives. The evidence was sufficient to persuade Lady Inspectress Margaret Saxby, the head of the Risuri RHC precinct, to sign an order for the Mayor's arrest.   On arrival at the Mayor's Nettles estate on Cauldron Hill, the commander of the local detachment of the Risuri military requested to inspect the arrest order, then led his troops just off of the estate, refusing to intervene on either side of a law enforcement issue. On confrontation at the estate garden, Reed seemed entirely unconcerned with the party's findings, dismissing their findings, and offering a tour of the estate to show he wasn't hiding anything. Just as the situation was growing tense, with the party unwilling to abandon the idea of arresting the mayor, an earthquake hit, the largest so far. The estate broke in half, with parts of it sinking into the hillside. A low hiss was heard from inside the estate ruins, followed by screams. A dark fog began to emerge from parts of the ruins, with flowers dying instantly at the fog's touch.   Macbannin called for someone named "Kaja" to "check the reservoir". He ordered the rest of the nearby staff to kill the PCs.   Ends 10 am, 8th day of Summer.