05 - 02/06/23 : A Short Cut to Mushrooms

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  The Moonlighters arrived at the Spring of Creation, where they met its receptionists; Upstanding Gentleman the Kenku, and his goblin understudy Vex. While very nervous, Vex displayed a remarkable degree of mechanical knowledge, as well as a firm grasp on the proper way to handle a gun. This was displayed when she asked to hold the group's weapons behind the counter; a rule that prevented Vesper from entering the Spring proper, as she could not part from her cursed blade.   Connie and Makoto were greeted at the central forge of the Spring by Edea Lockehart, who showed the two of them around and introduced them to Reilly Springs. Reilly, one of the Red Spirits who helped to save Revelmoore several months prior, was the proprietor of the Spring and shared with them the operation of the forge powered by Feywild-native wood.   Connie then spotted his brother Lewyn, who greeted his brother warmly. However, he carried grim tidings of a manhunt for Connie being led by Eldigan, their eldest brother and heir apparent of the family. The brothers re-connected for a moment, with Contrast sharing his chosen new name and Lewyn accepting it readily. Lewyn expressed his worry for Connie, but trusted his decision to strike out on his own and promised to not share that the two had met.   The two then discussed the shared family knowledge of vampire hunting, with Lewyn giving the party some pointers on tracking a vampire down and slaying it. He also introduced himself to Makoto, and informed Connie that their brother Beyard was, coincidentally, also tracking a supposed vampire in the area.   Edea then took Makoto aside and got permission to bring Makoto's shotgun into the workshop, then got to work on enchanting the weapon. She noted that the shotgun was surrounded by rather volatile ambient magic and that she would have a hard time working it into a proper enchantment, but endeavored to try anyway. The end result was an enchantment on the gun's barrels, which charged the shots fired with a random element that changed roughly every 24 hours. Makoto happily accepted this, naming her newly refurbished piece Wild Arm.   Having the info they sought, Connie and Makoto began to leave, but were brushed past by Vesper, who had chosen to ignore the rules in the lobby. Vesper confronted Reilly for her part in the death of Urstul Floxin, who had been dear to her during her time in the Black Network. Reilly's tone shifted to a serious one, and she insisted that Urstul had hurt those she cared about; by the laws of the fae, this meant he needed to die.   Vesper angrily retorted that what the Scions and Veszaltyrr had been fighting for was right and worth killing for, asking why Urstul shouldn't have taken from others when the world had already taken so much from him. She moved aside her armor to show off her Black Network branding to establish her loyalties; doing this also revealed a tattoo of a white spiderweb on her shoulder, which Makoto silently recognized as the markings of an ordained priestess of Lolth.   Reilly expressed her belief that Veszaltyrr's plan would have just been continuing a cycle of control, and that he needed to be stopped so people could be free. She was not sorry for killing Urstul, but did tell Vesper she was sorry to have hurt her, and offered Vesper whatever she thought was an acceptable recompense. Vesper was silent for a moment, and then turned to leave wordlessly. Reilly's final say in the matter was her hope for Vesper to find a better place for her passions, and stated that the party was still welcome in her business, with no ill will.   The party of three reconvened outside, and Vesper insisted that she did not want to talk about the argument. They continued on to the scene of the murder and cased the location. They found several possible clues, including dirt caked into footprints that was sanctified. This meant that the murderer had been at the City of the Dead at some point, as some of the dirt there was often ceremonially blessed to suppress the raising of undead interred beneath it. Further reinforcing this was the discovery of a badge bearing the symbol of the Exalted Guild of Undertakers, Morticians, and Gravetenders.   The Moonlighters continued their investigation by visiting the Temple of Freya where the victim's body had been turned in. Once there, they realized they had arrived as the victim's family was observing the body and discussing burial rites. They learned that the victim's name was Marigold Mossmantle, and the two family members present were her parents, Lawrick and Magnolia Mossmantle.   While Magnolia was in hysterics over the death of her daughter, Lawrick was able to speak with a grim and forlorn calmness. He shared information on Marigold, who was employed as a mushroom farmer and started her work very early in the morning, before the sun had risen. She was sometimes escorted to work by a member of the city watch working the graveyard shift, but not always. Given that her workplace was near the City of the Dead, she was reasonably well-acquainted with members of the Undertaker's Guild.   During their discussion, Makoto recognized some of Lawrick's tattoos as faded bandit gang designs. He stated that he had gone to ground in Revelmoore decades ago to start anew, and although he didn't believe the attack was retaliation from his old gang, he did get the feeling that the attack reeked of organized crime tactics. When asked about recent local happenings, he couldn't think of anything, except for North Ward's people being grumpy that one of the few butchers in the area, Thrakkus, died in the modron invasion earlier that year and were now forced to head to the market for meat. He didn't think it related, but he couldn't shake a hunch.   Their questions concluded, the party left the Mossmantles to grieve. As party deliberated, Vesper began putting connecting the dots in her mind and softly mumbled words of realization. When questioned, she revealed that the Scions did have a vampire in its ranks, a wild elf from the Green Realm named Arbane. Arbane was associated with Thrakkus, who was also a member who helped dispose of bodies resulting from street brawls and hits by discretely selling them as cheap ground meat to unsuspecting commoners. Vesper thought Arbane was dead, since he was supposed to have helped guard Maleficarius Towers the day Urstul died.   Vesper continued by stating that Arbane was an 'ethical' vampire that tried to feed only on animal blood. With this, Connie realized that Thrakkus was likely a source of animal blood for Arbane, given his occupation as a butcher. During this talk, she recalled her initial joining of the Scions, since he had been there before her. She let on that she originally hailed from Menzoberranzan, the largest Drow city in the Underdark, and that she had joined the Scions around the time of the Dark Sister Eclipse; roughly four years ago.   After gathering their clues together, Connie determined that the butcher's shop would be their best bet to find out more about the situation, and the party made their way to it, breaking in discretely. Amidst the smells of rotten meat and offal in the abandoned butchery, the party found Thrakkus' old bedroom and office. After searching, Connie discovered that the inkwell on the room's desk was actually a hidden switch, which revealed the way down into a cellar; a dark room sure to be the vampire's lair...