Session 18: Debts to be Paid

The Ratcatchers returned to Remora’s bookbinding shop and were quickly given a new task: infiltrate The Medallion, a gambling den in Tier 3, and steal a ledger that could expose the Ash Knives’ bribes to city officials. Since the Ratcatchers lacked the permits or prestige to enter Tier 3 directly, Remora directed them to the old lava tubes beneath Lexica—twisting tunnels left behind by the dormant volcano the city clings to. The descent was stifling and treacherous, their footsteps echoing through long-forgotten stone passages. Midway through, the tunnels erupted with fire as a summoned flame elemental surged into being, hurling burning fury at the intruders. Though the Ratcatchers defeated it, they quickly realized its presence was unnatural—left behind as a magical ward, most likely by the Ash Knives, to deter anyone prying too close to their affairs.   Emerging into Tier 3, the party found themselves in a different world from the grime and poverty below. Though many buildings still bore scars from the dream invasion weeks past, the citizens here carried themselves with polished confidence. Clean streets, bright fabrics, and fine dress marked a higher class of Lexican life. After stopping at The Crazy Caravan general store to gather a few supplies, the group turned their focus to The Medallion. The gambling den was a lavish building of stone and red-tiled roofing, with velvet curtains hiding its secrets from the outside world. Ash Knife bouncers flanked the front, their eyes sharp and unfriendly.   Ashir circled the building, discovering a discreet back door used for wine deliveries. Meanwhile, Sakuya chose a bolder path—using magic to disguise herself and gain entry through the front, paying the doormen in gold to pass inside. Within, she found a lively den of vice: gamblers hunched over dice and cards, Ash Knife enforcers patrolling the balconies, and silk-draped escorts weaving through the crowd, leading clients toward upstairs rooms. But as her disguise began to falter, Sakuya withdrew, rejoining the others to share what she had learned. Together, the party opted for subtlety, slipping in through the delivery door.   The back corridors were narrow and dim, but after dispatching a few guards and concealing their bodies, the Ratcatchers reached the manager’s office. The room was gaudy to the point of vulgarity—gold trimmings, gaudy fixtures, and excessive decoration. Searching the desk, they uncovered three ledgers, but Ashir’s sharp eye spotted a hidden safe beneath the desk. Inside lay the true prize: a fourth ledger, the one Remora had wanted, its pages thick with the names of officials and the bribes that kept them leashed to the Ash Knives. Before the group could make a clean exit, pounding fists and angry voices thundered at the office door. Thinking fast, Melxyynia hurled a molotov cocktail into the gaudy chamber, sending flames racing across the gold-stuffed room. With the blaze behind them and their pursuers cut off, the Ratcatchers leapt from a window onto a tarp below, making their escape through the tunnels and back to Remora. Their reward was swift—and so was their next mission.   Remora’s next plan was bolder still: disguise themselves as city guards and ambush a grain shipment moving from Tier 2 to Tier 1. The grain cart was no innocent delivery, but a front for Ash Knife operations, carrying something more valuable hidden within the sacks. At dawn, the Ratcatchers struck. Disguised as guards, they stormed the caravan, cutting down its Ash Knife escorts and seizing the wagon. To deepen the ruse, they shouted to the gathering crowd that the grain was free for the taking. As chaos broke loose and the citizens swarmed the grain, the Ratcatchers slipped away with the true prize—a chest of gold meant as a bribe for a Tier 1 official loyal to the Ash Knives. Returning to Remora with their disguises discarded, they delivered the chest and received heavy purses of gold in return.   With two daring jobs completed in quick succession, Remora urged them to lay low for a few days while she prepared the next move against the Ash Knives. The Ratcatchers returned to the Moon-Fork Inn, settling in for rest, reflection, and preparation for whatever came next in their growing shadow war.