Aftermath of the Runway
The party takes on the fashionable assassins sent to eradicate their new found couture lifestyle. Fashion is Vastorum is as deadly as Court politics in any other city, how will they overcome the challenges and uncover a hidden conspiracy?
Chaos erupted in the Vanguard's quarters as assassins shrouded the room in magical darkness, strip-destroying the party's clothing and manifesting dopplegangers of Percy and Renatus. Fighting through the pitch black—with Naoki illuminating the room using golden ethereal droplets, Percy mass-healing his allies, and Diablo suplexing a skeletal assassin—the party nearly turned the tide. However, a surviving skeleton pulled an exploding black core from its chest, triggering a blast that knocked out several members. Bursting into the destroyed room, Lady Darthbyne called the party a disappointment and gave them until sunrise to identify the house responsible for sabotaging their fashion and sending the bone-golem assassins. Meanwhile, inside a mirror shop, Naoki’s reflection unnervingly revealed an unfamiliar red-haired human instead of himself.
Splitting up across Vastorum's fashion district, the Vanguard scoured for clues and interrogated house leaders. Discovering a black tear-shaped gem, shadow silk, and dyed bone fragments at the crime scene, Percy successfully extracted black ink from the bone marrow, which matched the precise dye used by Dame Seraphine Lacrima of Maison Lacrima. Through a tense interrogation, Emelyne and Diablo coaxed an accidental slip-up from Dame Lacrima, revealing she knew the exact number of assassins before she could cover her tracks.
Reconvening before Lady Darthbyne, the Vanguard presented their evidence and formally accused Dame Lacrima. Teleporting the culprit into the workshop, Darthbyne revealed she already knew Lacrima was the traitor and had merely tested the party's resourcefulness. As punishment, Darthbyne compressed the weeping Dame into a living porcelain doll, dressed it, and placed it on a shelf alongside other trapped traitors. Grateful for their service, Darthbyne agreed to transport the party to the forgotten grove in the south, but issued a grave warning: a corrupted Angel of Vengeance—sent to hunt the Veiled Vanguard and further twisted by Nexus' shadow—was waiting outside the city to slay them.