Rem’e and Rhun head to the Glass Bugle, a pub and inn near the barracks of the keep. We meet Corporal Rye and other soldiers, buy them drinks, talk about battles with hobgoblins, and tell them of our encounter with the Stonefruit tribe – warning them of such a close incursion. We make a good impression.
The four companions meet back up at the Pipe & Pint for dinner. The following day we head to Advisor Wu’s but are turned away by Ruth: “The advisor is indisposed. You’ll have to come back later.” We hear arguing behind Wu’s door. Ruth says to return tomorrow. Outside, listening under the window, we learn that a caravan will be heading to an outpost called Basilisk Bluff and that Wu is being commanded to accompany it.
We decide to visit Kiff the Finder and see if he has work for us. Kiff tells us of a set of books he’s had smuggled into town that have been delayed in being delivered to him and hires us to investigate and retrieve them. The books are peculiar: they concern demons but are written in celestial. He does not know why his two men have not arrived.
We visit the house Kiff directs us to in a grungier part of town. The house is sparsely furnished, like a safe house, with signs of recent habitation but things are currently dusty and unused in the upper quarters.
In the basement we find a dead body face down on the floor blocking a concealed door, dagger in hand. As we examine it, two humanoid creatures whose features shift like runny clay or mud burst through the door and attack us. After a great deal of effort we manage to destroy them without getting too badly hurt.
Inside the concealed room we find another dead body and a triptych of books on a table. One book lies open. Ariza slams the book closed and begins to collect them, but Liadan and Rhun want to examine them first. Ariza and Rem’e give them fifteen minutes and head upstairs. The books contain summoning magic but hold a warning that one must use a password to open them.
We carry the books back to Kiff who is pleased to receive them. Rem’e slams the butt of his pistol on the books and warns, “Don’t open them”. Kiff pays us, and we leave with a warning: “Remember our advice. Your previous employees didn’t heed it.”
