23–24 Pharast, 4725 AR

Devon and Eli had a fight that morning. A sparring match, technically. Devon got Eli to half health and then lost the follow-through. This is the kind of thing I file under “party dynamics” and then quietly revisit when things go sideways.

It went sideways.

Ben sent word about a warehouse. The party split for reconnaissance: Azazle and Grizzle went in while the others positioned outside. Inside they found crates. Inside the crates they found people: an aiuvarin woman, a human man, a dwarf man. They appeared dead but were not. Eli identified what was happening to them as stasis. The warehouse had flame traps and was burning down around them. Azazle nearly died. It was as close to the edge as I had seen anyone get, and even by this party’s standards it is the kind of moment that makes you close your notebook and take a breath. They busted through the wall to get out.

They got the crates out. They hired dockworkers to move them. Ironmane was waiting at the forge.

He looked at the markings on the bodies and said they belonged to a cult. He did not look pleased about this. He also said, with the careful directness of someone who has watched things go wrong before, that he does not trust Ben.

He let them bring the crates in anyway. The people are still at the forge, under Pauline’s care.