Trimphid and Tumn have entered the Elven Court in order to travel to a place called the Mound, but that could be almost anywhere – there are gateways in the Court leading out to places all over the world.  Ruthorian has a position at Court and has agreed to look into whether anyone there knows where Trimphid and Tumn exited and how you three non-elf nobility can even enter the Court to pursue them.

While staying with Ruthorian, you meet his ward – Vyrin Lortis, an arrogant elf dandy and Ruthorian’s niece.  Her father was Lord Vorn, the boss of a gang of nativist elves called the Princelings.  They lost a turf war with the gnome gang called the Inkies led by Gwebbo the Big Blot, and Lord Vorn was killed and most Princelings died and the elf gang was disbanded. So tragic.

While you wait for Ruthorian to do his elven court thing, it’s time for a side mission!

Ruthorian has a buddy in the city, a fellow member of his secret order, a gnome wizard named Pobody who runs a potion shop.  He can identify the magical properties of Daisy’s sword, and he will likely only do it if you do something else for him because that’s just how these things work, always and forever.

You head into the Old Gnomish Quarter and seek out the shop.  Alarms go off upon entering, set off from Daisy’s magic sword. Croaking clockwork toad minions come to defend and Pobody jumps out to cancel them.

The gnome wizard introduces himself in one wordy mouthful as:

“Pobody Nobudge Alsuissious Hastershapp Gatwell Pebblibone Snerfect the Third (of Twelve Children)”

And promptly tries to sell you his potions and other alchemical creations, some of which you purchase. You explain that you are actually here on the recommendation of Ruthorian and are willing to pay the gnome for his services in identifying a magical item, or if the price is too beyond your means, perform a needed task in exchange instead.

Well, you do lack the funds, so Pobody gives you a mission:

“Perhaps you’ve heard of the recent gang wars in the Old Gnomish Quarter, the Princelings trying to take out the Stained (i.e. Inkies). Well, the Princelings lost, and Gwebbo seized Lord Vorn’s stuff.”

There’s a particular thing that Gwebbo got from Lord Vorn, Pobody explains, a stolen item, that doesn’t belong to either of them; it’s a portrait painting.  And Pobody can’t seem to find any elf willing to help since the Princelings were so profoundly trounced. Here’s where you can come in.

Pobody thinks the painting is in Gwebbo’s ink factory (“ink” being both a fluid for writing here in Tupelu, but also a drug that a lot of young impressionable elves are starting to take;  it supposedly increases one’s wit or creativity or something.)  He wants you to confirm the whereabouts of the painting and look for candles depicted in the picture. Using real flame, he wants you light the candles in two different sequences.  Once you’ve done that, Pobody explains that you can use the painting to escape – and you’ll know what that means when you get there. He suggests that, before you exit via portrait, you grab any of Gwebbo’s loot for yourself.

Pobody directs you back to Ruthorian and his gargoyle Scrafe in order to do some reconnaissance.  Scrafe scries for Ruthorian showing the street around the factory by day, and you get the lay of the land.  Your realize it’s best to go at night – that way, you won’t involve the citizenry or the wardens.

Ruthorian’s niece Vyr wants to assist you in the raid. She is an accomplished archer, and can take out the “grubs”, her racist term for gnomes, quite effectively.

So the four of you head over to the ink factory under cover of inky blackness and successfully make the raid.  You kill all of the gnomes save one, who gets away.  The portrait painting depicts Primwizard Artivole, and when you light the first sequence of candles in the painting, his eyes refocus on you. When you light the second sequence, his hand rises up in the painting as if reaching out to take your hand.  When each of you lifts your own hand up to the painting, you see a brief flash of the venerable wizard grabbing it and helping to heft you up into the painting, and then you are magically teleported to another place: a torch-lit chamber with the same painting on the wall, but in reverse.  You begin exploring this strange nether-place and soon run into Pobody, who was expecting you. He takes you to another reverse painting, leaps through, you follow suit, and you arrive back at Pobody’s study in his shop, having exited an almost exact duplicate of the Primwizard’s portrait on the gnome’s own wall.

You all decide to leave the potion shop that very night instead of demanding the gnome immediately identify the sword.  With the foppish Vyrin Lortis in the lead, you silently weave through the twisting, turning alleyways of the Old Gnomish Quarter (or the OGQ if you want to be all acronymy) back to the city proper and Faetol Aranfadori  (or if you’re not into the whole Elvishy thing, “Gargoyle Tower”, the nickname for Ruthorian’s house).

Once you’re safely inside, Vyr flings her bow at a servant and instructs him to get you set up with rooms. In a celebratory mood, she invites you to continue drinking with her, ordering up some of her uncle’s best vintages for the occasion. You can feel free to take part, or politely decline (aloof as always, she seems little concerned whether you join her or not).  Finally in a nice bed, you pass the night dreaming of small angry tattooed people shaking their ink-stained fists at you (well, all of you except Nim – she seems more disturbed than normal upon waking the next day).

The next morning, Daisy and Dov have TERRIBLE hang-overs from the ink fumes that got the best of them the night before.  Over a breakfast of… well, some kind of lichen thing (it’s good, whatever it is), Ruthorian asks how Pobody’s mission went.  Vyr animatedly tells him all about the grubs she plucked (i.e. punctured with arrows). She brags about how she vandalized the factory floor and Gwebbo’s office, writing “Lord Vorn Lives” on the walls in grub juice (i.e. gnome blood).  She is grieving her father and friends, soundly defeated by the gnome gang-lord, so I guess you can’t really hold it against her (Daisy at least can relate).  She too couldn’t find that one Inkie that was hiding in the crates, so there’s at least one witness that might get back to Big Blot (aka Gwebbo) and inform him of your likenesses.

Ruthorian tells you he is confident that the talented Pobody will identify the sword today. The wizard is no doubt grateful you’ve helped him re-activate Artivole’s portrait as it will aid him in his efforts to keep tabs on Gwebbo.

Your elf host also updates you with this:

“I’ve been making inquiries, and Trimphid did indeed enter the Court, but no one has any idea where he went, or won’t tell me. I think I’ve found a way to get you in though.  It’s well-known that I’ve been studying the raven problem; I’m something of a local expert on it. Occasionally, I sponsor speaking engagements in the Court on topics related to corvid malevolence for the amusement of the nobility.  There is some interest in hearing of your firsthand involvement in the defeat of Green Maggs and her raven allies. I have set up a soirée for you to speak on the subject tomorrow, perhaps have you perform a pantomimed reenactment?  I can get you each a pass provided to entertainers.  As far as how to track Trimphid once you’re inside, I do have an idea that I’m going to pursue, and will update you when I know more of the particulars.”

As a parting comment before retiring to his studio, Ruthorian also tells you that he has heard the chief warden wants to speak with you.  No doubt the city’s wardens are curious where you’ve been disappearing to.

So, you have a bag of loot to fence, and some of the items are magically delicious, a gnome wizard is waiting in his potion shop to look at Daisy’s sword – maybe finally tell you what it does, the chief warden is looking for you, plus tomorrow you’re putting on a show for a bunch of elf-lords.

It’s going to be an interesting day.

To Be Continued…