4/20/2022 The party spent two weeks in Ivy Shade resting and training. News of the party's great deeds had spread across the land, and a knight by the name of Deathjack came to the party to serve as a henchman for Xaris. As the party was preparing to leave Ivy Shade and travel to Quivera to deposit their riches in the bank, they were approached by a dwarven earth mage who introduced himself as Gunter. Chance and Xaris were a little suspicious at first and wanted to question him, so Igny cast Zone of Truth for the party to question Gunter. Gunter seemed sincere in his desire to aid the party, and also revealed that he believes that (with a little experience) he can unlock the hidden potential of crystal weapons. The party left Ivy Shade and made their way to Quivera. Stopping at the Bit Rest Inn, there was a group of Knights of Alamandros. One of the knights loudly stated that he recognized the party members as being part of the group that murdered a fellow Knight of Alamandros at the Morokanth Basher Estates. His fellow knights were less convinced and told him to quiet down. Although the party avoided any incidents, it seemed clear that Halkin's act of "self defense" continued to haunt the party. In Quivera, the party visited the bank to discuss terms for holding the gems in a lockbox and depositing the majority of the party's gold. While there, Tala, the high priestess of Chalana Arroy approached the party and offered to purchase the butterfly chalice for an incredible sum of 250,000 gold pieces! Xaris in particular, could hardly believe what was happening. In the end, the party felt that the chalice could do a lot more good in her hands than the party's, and the party could certainly find a way to use 250,000 gold, so they accepted her offer, and threw in the remaining red dragon blood for good measure. By keeping the gold in the bank, the party would be able to use the lockbox for the gems for free, and Xaris' parents would receive an annual stipend of 4 gold pieces so they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Upon leaving the bank, the party split up to do different business around town. Chance purchased some studded leather armor for himself. Xaris went to look at buying horses for those party members without a mount already so that the party could move more quickly between quests. Igny visited the Humakt Shrine and spoke with Mortanius who gave him a Rune Stone containing the Sever Spirit Rune Spell. Mortanius also told Igny about some murders taking place in the Merchant's Quarter. There have been no leads. Igny told Mortanius that he would speak to the party later about trying to solve the murders. After everyone concluded their individual business, they met up at the Drunken Dog Pub where they found the bard Yargin singing songs about the party's recent good deeds. They spoke at length with Yargin, trying to brainstorm some ways to "reframe" the narrative that had arisen concerning Halkin and the Knight of Alamandros. They also gave Yargin the magic mandolin and pan pipes they had found in ancient complex and asked him to stop singing about the rune sword (the party had already heard rumors about a group of dwarves who planned to excavate the site looking for the sword). The party talked it over and decided that a loose assassin in the Merchant's Quarter was definitely "bad for business" and they now had a very vested interest in keeping Quivera running smoothly. So, the next morning the party went down to the scene of the crime. Speaking with a local guard, they learned that the butcher who had been killed last was found with a dart sticking out of his neck in the magically cold back room of his shop. The guard also pointed out a print in the shop that looked like a giant rat print, and also some tufts of fur left behind. The guard emphasized that he was no detective, and it probably meant nothing. Chance was able to track the prints to a storm drain, and so the party climbed down into the drain system. Moving straight forward, the party shortly encountered a group of undead! Using their newfound abilities honed over the last two weeks, the party cut down the undead and proceeded down the corridor into a room where they found a Rat-man, just like the Rat-men they party had encountered in the ancient complex. The party quickly slayed him and found ample evidence that he had been the culprit behind the local murders. They also found a pile of meat, a pile of linens and clothes, and an odd-looking painting. Additionally, they recovered some gold, silver and copper from the site. And with that, the session concluded. TLDR: the party gained 2 henchmen, is now fantastically wealthy, and solved a string of killings in Quivera