For Whom the Bell Tolls

The Veiled Vanguard roused from a disturbing shared dream to find heavy snowfall blanketing the area. During breakfast at the Twin Hounds Tavern, a Dwarven man named Sabik Quartzeye approached them seeking an escort to Vernaria to find his missing husband. Sabik—son of Nazmir Quartzeye, a former Seeker who vanished into the underworld—convinced the party to help. After briefly weighing an alternative route across the massive lake to reach Vernaria, the party decided an overland trek was best, borrowing a neighbor's sled for the two-week journey through the snow.

During the journey, Sabik revealed that Vernaria has been ruled by the military "Cinder Council" since the Tears of Tumes, when the council secured power and superseded the previous rule of the Guilds. On the second day, Percy cast Scry on Sabik’s husband, discovering him chained in a prison cell. Sabik admitted his husband—a magical historian—was arrested by the Cinder Guard simply for inquiring about the Tower of Alurra, an ancient structure that Vernaria's Lord Marshal, Aldous Ferren, is obsessed with monopolizing and keeping others from researching.

Upon arriving at Vernaria, Percy and Emelyne bluffed their way past the guards using an explanation involving "the algorithm." The party split to secure lodging, with Emelyne, Naoki, and Sabik taking rooms at The Nesting Griffin in the East District, while Sanasha, Percy, and Diablo stayed at the luxurious Ivory Nook in the North District. At the Ivory Nook, the party crossed paths with Lord Minorealis, an estranged ally and former lover of Amoral Tamlish, who gave Sanasha a magical business card capable of summoning his Faerie Dragon familiar to provide a shortcut to his manor.

That night at The Nesting Griffin, Emelyne secured Sabik's room with Arcane Lock for his protection, overhearing him sobbing and praying for his husband's well-being. Using Alter Self to adopt the alias "Willow," Emelyne joined Naoki in the tavern to gather intelligence. They befriended a flamboyant Gnomish city administrator and accompanied him to his office two blocks away under the guise of helping with clerical work.

While Emelyne gathered administrative files into her bag, Naoki emptied the gnome's purse—revealing it to be a small Bag of Holding—and claimed a bag of purple powder. When the administrator returned, Naoki charmed him, but after an attempted Modify Memory failed, Naoki struck the gnome over the head with a bottle infused with Shillelagh. He stabilized the man and forced an entire bottle of wine down his throat to leave him thoroughly intoxicated in hopes of muddying his memory before Misty Stepping Emelyne into a nearby bush to escape. Emelyne spent the rest of the night studying the stolen documents, learning that Lord Marshal Ferren personally reviews every report concerning the Tower of Alurra.

In the morning, Cinder Guards arrived at The Nesting Griffin to investigate the administrator, who had choked on his own vomit overnight and died. With Naoki hiding as a spider inside Emelyne's hat alongside Eggy, Emelyne retrieved Sabik, and the trio fled the inn to reunite with the rest of the party. Upon learning what Naoki and Emelyne had done the previous night, the party confronted them over their reckless choices. Sensing they were being watched in the streets during the argument, Sanasha tore Lord Minorealis’s card, summoning his Faerie Dragon familiar to transport the entire Vanguard to his manor, where their host offered Emelyne an autograph and began brewing tea as they arrived.