This is part three of a short recap of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign through which Elderhearth came to be.
Part 1
Part 2
More context:- Ephraim, when not doing jobs for Golden Mask, wears a fake identity and frequents the Merchant Level (three levels above the Common Level), where he swindles rich people in order to gain financial gain. Important note about Ephraim is that he comes from the Noble Level, which is one level below the highest level of Elderhearth - that is The Citadel, or the Royal Level. His father, Fado Gray is current Minister of External Affairs and oversees trading with other kingdoms outside of Elderhearth. Ephraim hasn't been home in 10 years, but he has retained all of his skills he learned as a young nobleman. The Gray family was loyal to the usurped Emperor Divinicus - which puts him at odds with most of the nobles who have chosen to side with Aggron.
- Ashley is Uther's adopted brother. That is apparent because Ash has dark skin, and Uther is white. When Ash was a kid, he came into Elderhearth with his father, who was an entertainer and a peddler of various goods, especially magical items and tricks. Due to the swindling nature of that business, his father had unknowingly made an enemy out of an Elderhearthian noble, the head of Richmond family - a man who controlled the finances of Elderhearth. That resulted in Ash's father being murdered in cold blood and all of his belongings taken away somewhere. Uther and his family, seeing that Ash was left alone in the world, decided that they will take Ash in and give him a home and a family. Ash grew up to be a swindling entertainer as his father was, and whenever he wasn't doing jobs with his brothers, he would go around the Common Level playing in various taverns as a bard, but since the opening of the Royal Den, Ash was the official bard of the tavern.
- Jack wasn't originally from Elderhearth as well. He came to the City as a child with his father, Emir who was a Librarian. Librarians are mages who belong to a large mage order, and they mostly do research, archaeology, search for knowledge and texts relating to magic and history, etc... Because Emir's quests have started to become more and more dangerous, he used to leave Jack with Uther and his family, since they were close friends. When Jack was a teenager, his father left on a very dangerous mission and did not return from it. Later on, Jack would receive news of his father's death, which broke him. But, due to the mysterious nature of his death, Jack wanted to discover what exactly had happened. So he joined the Librarians and immediately began working on finding out what had happened to his father. That took him outside of Elderhearth on a few adventures of his own, where he had discovered his true power as a mage. Then the Civil War happened, and now, Jack managed to get himself a position in the Elderhearth Common University, where he teaches magic. So, when Jack isn't doing jobs with his brothers, he teaches.
- Uther works as a blacksmith with Kandor, but now that he has a tavern, he has devoted himself to running his business properly and whenever he isn't out on a job, you can find him in the Royal Den.
Ephraim managed to get them rich, lavish clothes and they hired an expensive carriage - so when they arrived at Linus' party, they looked the part of rich men. Their target was a Merchant from the Merchant Level, who has been funding the drug rings in the Common and Ghetto levels. Upon entering, Ash immediately started to hog spotlight for himself when he climbed up on stage with the bards and began playing - outplaying them all.
Ephraim quickly found a way to slip past the guests and the party and had gone out to scout the Villa where the party was taking place.
Uther, having the poise of an arrogant nobleman (as taught by Eph), had started mingling with the rest of the guests, eventually reaching Linus himself and being invited to his VIP lounge for a private conversation.
Jack had spent some of his time sitting with the rest of the University Professors and Academics, but at the same time he was keeping the telepathic link with his magic between all of them active, so they could communicate without having to be near each other.
Ephraim, having climbed up to Linus' private quarters had discovered something horrific. In Linus' room, he found a dead woman and caught a glimpse on a richly dressed assassin who was fleeing from the scene.
He informed the rest of the guys, and they were now wary of possible disturbances.
Ephraim joined them in the main hall. They have found their target making his way to the bathroom. Jack and Ephraim followed. They disposed of the guy quickly, leaving his corpse in the bathroom, leaving no traces behind them, and returned to the main hall.
Ash was playing the entire time, giving himself alibi.
Uther was having a conversation with Linus. The crime boss of the Common Level was threatening Uther with a lot of things, but without effect. Uther simply did not yield. As Jack and Ephraim were entering the hall, a man had come up to the table where Linus and Uther were having a conversation, and Ephraim recognized the man's clothes as the assassin from upstairs. Jack informed them all about the situation, and they were not surprised when the assassin talked to Linus. Uther managed to hear a name: Andrew.
Linus gave Uther an ultimatum - he either yields to him or he does not leave the party alive. Uther laughed and got up, starting to depart. That made Linus angry. His tone was getting angrier and his voice was growing louder. Thinking quickly, Ash had made a move. He summoned an illusion of a naked man running erratically through the main hall. For whatever reason, that made Linus furious. Uther made his way away from his VIP lounge, as Linus took out his pistol and took aim.
The first shot took an innocent woman in the chest, which made Vigaarde - who was present at the party - react by shouting an order for the Blackthornes to arrest Linus. The naked man illusion was still active and he was running all over the hall.
Linus took a second shot. It hit Vigaarde in the shoulder. And from the mass of guests, a bunch of men clad in black clothes had emerged, tackling Linus to the ground. People were screaming, and the boys decided to huddle up together. Vigaarde got up and now, the main hall was filled with Blackthornes clad in armor, securing the perimeter, arresting Linus and his guards. After a quick sweep of the house, they had discovered a corpse of a woman in Linus' sleeping quarters and a merchant in the bathroom.
Vigaarde dismissed the party, as well as the boys because he was keeping tabs on the the entire time, and to him - there was nothing suspicious in whatever it is that they had been doing. They went back to the Royal Den, with smiles on their faces - having easily escaped a potential disaster.
The night was spent in celebratory drinking until the Royal Den's opening hours.
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