21-03-2025: A Wild Party pt.1

The adventures of the party continued with a slight rollback in time. While Mae, Aerith and Lord Aegaelion attended their meeting, Leo and Jaina decided to hit the city in the hope of finding trails of organized crime. Their plan was to hit different pubs in the Golden Archway and keep an eye on any suspicious activity. They figured some criminals would use the cover of crowd to hide their shady dealings. On their investigation they noticed a particular, blond haired indivual wearing a purple suit, because he looked more well endowed than the other patrons. He walked up straigth to the bar where he ordered a cocktail and something else. It was impossible to hear from the distance Jaina and Leo were sitting. The barkeep went to the back. Jaina, thinking quick, decided to refill their ale to get a closer look on the individual and hopefully on whatever he asked the barkeep. When the barkeep returned, he had a bottle in his hand, covered by a rag to conceal it. He put it on the bar next to the fellow and attended Jaina's ale needs. Jaina returned to her seat next to Leo and saw the man calmly finishing his cocktail while he looked around the bar. After he finished his cocktail, he paid the barkeep and left with the mysterious bottle. Jaina and Leo decided to track the man for a little while until they reached a new bar.   They skillfully avoided his attention, but the man looked like he was heading for the Velvet Promanade, without anything interesting happening. Jaina and Leo entered a different bar and this time Leo decided to ask the barkeep on tips on how to stay away from any trouble. The barkeep here told them that the city of Illumé is relatively safe for a city of this magnitude. Because of its structured layout of districts with walls and gates forming the border, petty crime has little success to prevail. The Dawn Warden being such an overwhelming force with presence everywhere within the city, making any ruckus is almost guaranteed with capture. Illumé laws are also very punishing, so stealing usely gets punished with cutting of the hand. These extreme measures, the Dawn Wardens and the structure of the districts, make it close to impossible to do any smaller crimes. That's were the barkeep tells them that organized crime is the only thing they have to worry about. To successfully get away with crime, entire organisations have to plan and work together to pull it off. To make all that work worth it, they usually only target crimes with big payouts, which means commonfolk are not the target.   With this information not really helping them finding any more hints about the crime within the city, but still very useful. They decided to return to the mansion through some alleyways. As the alleyways are furthest away from any Dawn Wardens, they still carried the biggest chance for any petty crime. However, Jaina and Leo had an uneventful and peaceful way back to the mansion.   During Jaina and Leo's stroll, Gothrick was still shooting with his new gun back at the mansion. He was practicing his stance, speed and grip and realised he was out of bullets. So, he decided to return to Luminous Arms to buy more bullets from the greedy shopkeeper: DeVilto. Gotrick asked him how he could get better at shooting and DeVilto explained the use of the crosshair could result in a more precise aim. He gave him a terrific discount after Gothrick promised him with more business. Selling 200 bullets to Gothrick for just half the price.   Meanwhile, Mind had finished transcribing his scroll he got from Scripts & Sigils into his Spellbook. Excitedly, he went to the garden to test his newly acquired spell by using it on Hugin in his wingless hippogriff form, giving him his wings. He then spent the entire hour flying over the mansion, enjoying the fruits of his labor.   Not long after Aerith, Mae and Aegaelion returned from their meeting and the whole group had gathered around. Aerith and Mae gave a short summary of how it went and told everyone they were invited to a house party at House Varyntiel. The theme was wild, which the party interpreted as wild in nature. Aerith was already trying to picture what she was going to wear, consulting with Mind about illusion magic, but Aegaelion lowered their expectations. He told them it is more likely they wear more common folk clothes, as the attendees wouldn't know anything about the outside of Illumé. Aerith disappointed decided to write her letter to Lady Aenysiel with some questions for her regarding her absence from the House and what could be expected from Aerith when asked certain questions. Jaina and Leo also shared about their venture into the Golden Archway. This gave Aerith the idea to ask if Selene could get them a map of Illumé. This way they could use it to mark things almost as if it was a battle plan map. Most of the party enjoyed some drinks before heading to bed.   The next morning, during breakfast, Gothrick wondered if he could get a pass to enter the Shimmerforge district, so he summoned Lorice to him. Lorice ensured him she could arrange such access passes and promised to deliver them at his desk as soon as possible. The rest of the party decided they still felt a bit like shopping and maybe look around for some preparations for the party. So, they headed towards the Velvet Promenade.   They first returned again to the Luminis Arms where DeVilto was happily welcoming them to his shop. Eagerily asking them if they wanted to buy more guns from him. Jaina fell in love with 1 particular pistol which she absolutely wanted to have. Gothrick leveraged the many gold coins he has spent at his shop to persuade DeVilto into giving a nice discount on Jaina's guns. Something DeVilto reluctantly agreed upon, lowering his pistol price to 200 gold pieces. Leo also played with the idea of buying a gun, but decided that at this time it was to expensive for him.   Afterwards they went to look around for clothes. Jaina spotted a beautiful black cloak with golden effects when you move it around. She was really curious to have one, but the shop was very expensive. The shopclerk asked a whopping 1000 gold pieces, because it was inlayed with gold dragon scales. After close inspection, Mind confirmed that these were real scale and scoffed. The shopclerk noticed Mae's face as she looked at the scales but ensured everyone that the scales were willingly given and no harm was done to the creature it came from. Jaina told the shopclerk that she would keep this cloak in mind and might come back later.   The last shop they went to was a pet shop, where they saw many different weird, cute, cool and anywhere between pets. Jaina was looking to give Kiwi more goodies and some of the party were interested in having a pet. They thought it best to think it over and come back another day.   After the shopping they decided to chill it out until they had to head to the party. The building owned by House Varynthiel was very impressive and very different from Celebren's mansion. As Aegaelion expected, everyone had put commoner clothes on for the theme party. Cole stayed near the entrance. He privately told Aerith that, if she would be in any trouble, she should whisper Cole's name into her ring. He only told her that he would come to her if she did that, not elaborating any further. Aerith, slightly surprised to learn her ring could be used in such a way, thanked him for being there for her.   With drinks in hand, the group began to ease into the energy of the gathering. They quickly noticed that there were lots of young people and it almost seemed like a teenage party to some of the members of the group. Still, that didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves. As memories of past festivities resurfaced, Mind couldn’t help but recall the last time they danced—when he and Jaina had an unforgettable dance-off. Challenging each other to a rematch, they made their way to the dance floor. Jaina moved with effortless grace, and as she danced, magical leaves swirled around her with each step. Mind, on the other hand, was less prepared. With every movement, flames erupted at his feet—unexpected and disorienting. His rhythm faltered, and he even stepped on Jaina’s toes more than once. Mae asked Aerith to dance, which Aerith gladly accepted. Though Mae struggled slightly, her movements surrounded by sporadic, beautiful sparks, Aerith was entirely in her element. Dark clouds drifted and coiled around her, perfectly in sync with her every step—mystical, elegant, and mesmerizing.   Across the room, Leo’s attention was drawn to a striking high elf seated near the dance floor. Her skin held a yellowish hue, her pale blonde hair flowing around her face, and she appeared older than most of the attendees. Intrigued, Leo approached and asked her for a dance. She accepted with a graceful nod. Their dance was enchanting. Blue glyphs encircled Leo while snowflakes fluttered around the high elf—an elegant contrast that mirrored their seamless chemistry. It was easily the most captivating performance of the night.   After this dance they introduce themselves and where they come from. The high elf's name is Meliana Quoroniel. Their conversation shifted to her apparent interest in Aerith, who was still on the dance floor with Mae, Jaina, and Mind. As Leo and Meliana approached, it became clear that she knew more about the group than one might expect from a stranger. She told them that gathering knowledge is her thing. Meliana also spoke about a rumor that Lady Aenysiel supposedly had a romantic moment with her father, Illion Quoroniel. Aerith deflected the subject, stating plainly that such topics were never discussed with the Lady. Still, she seemed intrigued by Meliana’s tale. Aerith tells about how she comes from Thalaniel, that she is raised there and how she met Lady Aenysiel. The group asks about her and she tells them that she has an advisory roll in her House. Her brother Illian, is the heir to the seat of Quoronriel. He got this honor simply because he is the oldest child of their father Illion. However, she mentions that her brother acts as a brat because of this. He expects everyone to do as he says. If things don't go the way he wants it to, he will throw a temper tantrum in his rage. He also is somewhere at this party with his fiancé and his bodyguards. In her story she reveals that she has a deep understanding of magic. Mind, of course, perked up immediately, eager to know more. Their conversation blossomed into a shared excitement over magical theories, and Meliana extended an invitation to Mind: to visit the Aezezias Academy with her sometime. He accepted without hesitation.   Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a group of Gnomes. One of them, wearing an odd mechanical glove, was speaking animatedly with members of House Varynthiel, especially Caladris. Intrigued, the group—and Gotrick, who had been quietly stationed at the bar all evening—stepped outside to investigate. The Gnome, full of energy, demonstrated the glove's remarkable abilities. One feature allowed it to extend and grasp distant objects—a marvel of design. Aerith pondered whether the glove was based on Warforged technology, though Gaele couldn’t say for certain. As Gotrick questioned him enthusiastically, the Gnome introduced himself as Durgle Shimmerforge. That name struck them like a bolt of lightning. The adventurers stood in stunned silence, the realization settling over them; they might be getting closer to their goal.