Reinald Vulperian | Before Noon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

As Reinald prepares to head to the Barnacled Barrel for that meeting with Brigitte and Gurak.
He finds Ervin on the porch of his house next to Aveline, Ervin calls out to him and informs him that his belongings have been brought over from the mansion, Ervin informs Reinald that many houses in this city actually have number plates, and if he would flip the number plate of Ervin's home upright, it'll be a way off the street, no questions asked. Ervin gives no further explanation on how it works, Ervin tells Reinald that he'll find out, which annoys Reinald a bit.

Ervin then escorts Reinald to the De Ragnaisse mansion, escorting him to his prepared room.
The hallways are decorated with large human armored statues with draconic details. The room itself is generous, six pillows on the bed. Reinald, for his part, feels immediately at home. Ervin mentions that the rest of the staff will probably return tomorrow, and provides him with a map of the city.

Before heading back into the city, he takes a moment alone with Röka. The spirit materializes on the bed with characteristic theatrics, lamenting his incorporeal existence while eyeing a board game left on the table. Their conversation drifts, as it often does, toward the question of what Röka actually is. A manifestation of something in the book, neither ghost nor imagined thing, but something older and harder to name. Röka deflects with his usual cheerful evasiveness, and Reinald lets it go. They have more pressing concerns.

Reinald ventures into the Ambassador's District with his map, noting the mayor's office in passing. The door has been recently replaced, the new wood noticeably brighter than the surrounding stonework. Paint buckets still sit beside it. He makes note and moves on.

At the Ambassador's Pier, two of the names from Lucien's contacts list appear almost immediately: the deerfolk and the blue dragonfolk, alive and unremarkable. They appeared in the dream, yet the two don't seem to recognize Reinald as he walks past carefully. A third contact, the woman in white gloves, steps out of what appears to be a converted lighthouse now serving as a church, glancing toward a distant ship before rejoining the others.

Reinald spots the lady and deerfolk step into the warehouse, while spotting the dragonfolk leave the ambassador's district. None of them recognized him. Which is both a relief and a strange, unsettling thing, given what Reinald experienced in that dream.

The lighthouse-church draws a brief reflection: this city bears the name of one of the great architects of Sevenfold's earliest peace, Scalebearer Allura Hershkowitz, the woman who first gave the accord its shape, yet now... the church smells of fish and stale politics.

Reinald, Brigitte & Gurak | Noon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Brigitte arrives at the Barnacled Barrel first, settling at the bar with an ale. She clocks the room, spots a large wolffolk assessor conducting what sounds like routine shipping business with a woman she recognizes from the dream. The woman wraps up the conversation with a handshake and a barely contained wince because of the wolffolk's smoking. Brigitte watches her leave the tavern, but it doesn't seem that she recognizes her.

Suddenly, a gold kobold shows up with another coupon for the bathhouse's grand re-opening. Brigitte accepts it. Gurak arrives and takes the table. The two discuss the situation regarding Mayor Hartthorne's disappearance. They wonder about the new deerfolk noble arrived at the mayor's office, who thunderwaved the door open without hesitation, and the city guard let it happen without a word. The door, Brigitte now realizes, must have already been barricaded from the inside when Lewys arrived, which means he knew it would be...? Which means someone told him! It must have been a display, then? A performance of authority.

Reinald walks in not long after and finds them at the table, both Gurak and Brigitte are... basically twice his height. He sits down opposite and orders an ale.

What follows is a careful, mildly hostile conversation in which very little information is technically exchanged but a great deal is understood. Brigitte fires questions and Gurak slows them down. Reinald confirms he was in the dream, notes that Aveline was also present but did not recognize him, and presses gently on what they know. They don't take the bait. He knows they know more than they're saying. They know he knows more than he's saying.

The name Corrin surfaces when Reinald mentions the Spellwhisk Consortium, and Gurak registers the name in a way that is not entirely neutral. Reinald mentions the missing bookshop owner and the change of management at the clothing shop, and here he earns something genuine, a flash of suspicion from Gurak. Katrien's absence, presented as 'common knowledge' by this newcomer who arrived in the city this morning, is information that shouldn't be common knowledge at all. Reinald mentions the mayor's disappearance with the same casual air. Gurak says nothing. Brigitte says nothing. Reinald recognizes that the two must know more than they are telling.

The conversation ends without resolution. Brigitte tells him she won't be tackling him next time, just a tap on the shoulder. He says that's very kind of her. Gurak finishes his drink in one motion and stands. As they leave, Reinald pays for his own drink.

Outside, Gurak is visibly agitated. "That little scrawny fox is a spy, Brigitte." Brigitte doesn't disagree. He arrived today and already knew about Hartthorne and Katrien. Someone is feeding him information, or he has access to someone who does. Gurak suggests to talk to Kaelis.

Brigitte Yrsdottir | Afternoon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Back at the hideout, Gurak goes directly to Kaelis, the family's left hand, who is at the bar writing something in code. Kaelis' relationship with Brigitte is cordial, the quiet mutual respect of two people who serve the same cause from different angles.

Kaelis does not like the sun, and the horns that curve from his forehead are not like any human's, and above ground, people tend to stare or step aside or do both. Down here, nobody comments. That is, for most of the family, the end of it.

Brigitte relays the essentials: a foxfolk named Novelington, arrived today, claims to be here with an aunt on business, already knew Hartthorne was missing and that Katrien is gone, before anyone in the family had said a word. Kaelis hadn't heard anything in the scaffold district either about it... So that information is definitely not public. Gurak raises the question of Felix Fabulous, who told them earlier that Katrien was simply on holiday. That was a lie. Felix knows she's missing. Kaelis agrees to watch both.

Brigitte adds that she'll go check on Sonya, whose potion shop was hit by the new tariff enforcement that morning. The family will hold a full meeting tomorrow, with the harefolk visitor arriving as well, so Rhazeth will have his hands occupied.

The foxfolk information stays between the three of them for now. Kaelis compliments the jacket before she goes. It is the exact same jacket as the one she already wears, but Brigitte recognizes that Kaelis' eyes can sense the magic within her new jacket.

Reinald Vulperian | Afternoon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Reinald makes his way to the Spellwhisk Consortium warehouse on the Ambassador's Pier. There is no visible guard outside, but silence spells seal the building entirely. He rings the bell and is met by one of the employees, who shouts for the boss. Who emerges is Corrin: blue-fur, hair swept to one side, an old jacket covered in hand-sewn patches, one of which bears a white dagger. Reinald places it immediately. Lucien wore the same emblem.

The reunion is a little awkward as they reminice on their days at the Spellwhisk Academy before Corrin's family moved away. She leads him to her office. In her office Corrin offers him some tea, her office has a prototype tea-heating contraption with a ruby-red gemstone for warmth and a jug that pours itself. They fall briefly into the comfortable rhythm of two people who think about the same kinds of problems: Reinald suggests a rotating basket system for individual tea selections to replace loose leaf. She finds this reasonable. Perhaps later.

He tells her, eventually, that a mutual contact suggested she was someone worth speaking to. She understands the implication, and asks directly: What do you need?

Reinald tells Corrin that someone replaced the mayor with impossible speed, people are missing, and he's been tasked with investigating discreetly.

She tells him what he actually needs to hear, which is that he is approaching this the wrong way. He is still thinking like a Spellwhisk scholar, issuing baits and looking for clever angles. Allura's Haven does not work that way. Blend in with the commonfolk, she says. The Scaffold District is where information actually moves, but only if he acts like one of them.

The conversation turns, briefly and warmly, to Lewys. They were in the same year at the Academy. He always got higher marks than he deserved, and she still remembers the look on his face when Lukas dropped a water balloon on his head. Life is different now.

She mentions that she still needs to visit Silas about some paperwork. They agree to lunch tomorrow. As Reinald leaves, she adds, with the tone of someone who has watched this before: Try to be a bit more subtle. Reinald adjusts to simpler clothes back at the mansion, puts his glove over his Niðavellirian Arm and heads for the scaffold district to gather information.

Brigitte Yrsdottir | Afternoon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Brigitte takes a short detour through the back alleys of the Scaffold district, drawn by the smell of caramelized apple. A Pouchfoot man is setting up his night-market stall, glazing fresh tarts with a small fire spell. He seems unhappy about the new taxes and mentions that the guards have been going door-to-door in the district looking for something or someone, breaking into houses without explanation.

Brigitte buys four tarts for Sonya, tips him a gold-coin, and walks away, the faint commentary of the beast within taunts her, which apparently has opinions about her generosity.

At The Bubbling Cauldron, its sign bears dried herbs and a hanging cauldron. Brigitte finds Sonya in her bubble, deep in thought over her workbench, and doesn't notice the door open. When Brigitte rings the desk bell and sets down the bag of tarts, Sonya looks up.

The citywatch came through this morning and took half her inventory, citing illegal sourcing. She had no argument against it because... well... they were right. But now, her research is on hold.

What she has been working on, she explains, is a throwable potion: a small jelly-ball that bursts on contact with skin, delivering a healing effect at range. She calls them Baubles, after Winter-fest ornaments. The practical application, she makes clear, is for getting a potion to someone who is unconscious or otherwise unreachable. Brigitte finds this impressively pragmatic.

Sonya asks if Brigitte has anything to do this afternoon. Her ochre jelly batch in the sewers should be ready to harvest. She has been growing them in the sewers. Brigitte agrees with a bit of hesitation, and they head for the pier.

Reinald Vulperian | Afternoon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Reinald arrives at the scaffold district and finds The Drunken Phoenix, a lively inn that serves as the district's informal center. He fits in well enough in his simpler clothes, but the ale still costs a gold piece. Everyone's does.

He spots the blue dragonfolk from the contacts list sitting alone with an omelet, and approaches. The opening line goes badly... Calling out that he saw him at the Ragnaisse warehouse while standing in the poor district earns exactly the reaction one would expect.

The dragon-folk, who goes by Reggie, seems very much aware that Reinald is trying a bit too hard to be... 'subtle'. He invites him to sit, but not before making Reinald buy him a drink.

Reggie is oceanic dragonfolk, the kind adapted to salt-water and long silences, and he smells of several different kinds of alcohol without acting drunk in the slightest. He watches Reinald try to find his footing with the particular patience of someone who has seen this before and finds it mildly entertaining.

Reinald tries a few angles. Looking for work. Heard things. Just passing through. Reggie absorbs each one without reaction, chewing his omelet, waiting. When Reinald finally admits he just wants to get to know the district, Reggie's posture shifts slightly. Now that, he says, is an opening sentence.

What follows is less an interrogation than a quiet education. Reggie does not ask who Reinald is working for or why he's really here. He either already knows or doesn't care. What he does is point out, with a kind of weary precision, that walking into the poor district and immediately invoking the name of a wealthy trader is not the move Reinald seemed to think it was. These people are not like that, he says. You want something from them, you sit with them first.

There is something in the way he says it that makes Reinald look at him more carefully. The clothes are worn but not careless. The vocabulary is precise. At some point, Reinald suspects, this dragonfolk might have had a more noble life, but now made a different set of choices, or had them made for him. Reggie doesn't elaborate. He pours something lime-green from a small bottle into his drink, stirs it with one finger, and looks considerably more comfortable afterward.

By the end of it, Reggie has handed over what Reinald actually needed: the potion shop down the street, run by a girl named Sonya, short on ingredients, probably worth a visit. As Reinald leaves, a large bearfolk with a distinct mushroom smell pushes past him in the doorway on the way in. He notes this and keeps walking.

Reinald, Brigitte & Sonya | Afternoon | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Several blocks away, Brigitte throws a rock at a guard's shin to create a distraction. She was aiming next to him. The guard yells. Sonya, recognizing the improvisation for what it is, sprints for the sewer entrance. Reinald, watching this situation unfold from across the street, uses a subtle spell to create an illusion of a small child running in the opposite direction. The guard takes the bait. Reinald follows them both down the sewers.

The sewers beneath the scaffold district are low-ceilinged and dark, the air thick with the smell of old water and pipe grease and something faintly organic underneath it all. Reinald keeps his distance from Brigitte and Sonya while trailing after them, hanging back at the corners while the two of them move ahead, their voices carrying through the stone in soft echoes.

In the sewers, the maintenance room where Sonya's growing the oozes has been... locked?Which it should not! Brigitte kicks it open in two strikes and discovers that the pot inside is nearly empty, just residue, and greenish ooze trails lead across the floor and up the walls.

Reinald rounds the corner just in time to hear this, and just in time to see what happens next.

Uh-oh. They have not matured enough to escape on their own, Sonya says. Someone must have been here! Brigitte and Sonya explore the sewers further in attempt to find the oozes, neither of them is looking up, but Reinald did!

The residue trails on the ceiling finally resolve into a shape, something pale and translucent and very still, pressed flat against the stone directly above them, waiting. He shouts a warning and hurls a blast at the ceiling before it can come down on either of them.

What follows is a chaotic, wet, acid-burned fight through the maintenance tunnels beneath the scaffold district. Brigitte splits jellies in half with her sword before realizing that splitting them is not the same as killing them. Reinald burns several with scorching rays while Sonya lobs healing bauble from a distance at Reinald's head.

During the fight, Sonya heard a sound coming from further into dug tunnels and yells for help. As Reinald and Brigitte rush after her, they find not more jellies but a figure: masked, robed in silken woven cloth unlike anything from above ground, with a bioluminescent flower fixed to a staff. The flower, it becomes apparent, is what caused the jellies to overgrow. The figure is surrounded and struggling!

They clear the remaining jellies, and Reinald, Brigitte and Sonya manage to save the figure, who addresses them in a language that neither Sonya nor Reinald understand, but Brigitte does!

The figure responds: surface dwellers, I thank you. Brigitte understands the language. Reinald and Sonya do not, but something about the figure's shape is familiar in a way he can't name. The language he speaks is not known in the Sevenfold Commonwealth, yet to Reinald it seemed somewhat akin to dwarven... but more ancient.

The figure, recovering, points back down the tunnel: "Go. My friends are coming! You must leave!" Sonya, Brigitte and Reinald hear others arrive further into the tunnels, and Brigitte makes sure that Reinald and Sonya leave with her. As the figure tries to make clear there is urgency in it. Brigitte hears another voice shout "Surface Dwellers! Kill them on Sight!"

Reinald and Sonya can't understand. Brigitte makes a small bow to the figure, and Sonya presses a healing potion into the figure's hands anyway. The figure accepts. And Reinald, Sonya and Brigitte leave the tunnels returning to the surface.

Reinald, Brigitte and Sonya | Evening | 20th of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

They come up near the pier and Brigitte creates a distraction while blocking his line of sight to the others. It does not go smoothly, but Reinald and Sonya manage to slip past. In Sonya's shop, Sonya begins scraping the jelly residue she managed to collect. Enough for a small batch of Healing Baubles.

Reinald introduces himself properly, claims he heard she was looking for help with ingredients through someone at a bar, which is technically true. Brigitte gives him a very flat look.

He asks about the figure in the tunnels, but neither Brigitte nor Sonya have answers about that. Reinald asks what language it was, but Brigitte doesn't answer that. She does explain that the figure told them that they needed to leave urgently. Sonya deduces that the figure might have had something to do with the jellies unexpected growth. But not all the pieces form a picture.

Eventually, Reinald takes his leave.

Sonya tells Brigitte that she'll probably be busy all evening with her preparations. Before Brigitte goes, Sonya reminds her: she has a fight with Salt and Pepper tonight. Brigitte straightens slightly. Sonya presses a spare healing potion into her hands. Just for convenience.

He's a little odd, Sonya says.

Yeah, Brigitte agrees.

But she dreamed about him.