Althus will respond briefly to Neventi, "They will be with us soon, madame. If you will excuse me, I must cast a spell."

Althus will cast detect evil and good.

Regardless of what he finds, he will follow up with, "If you hold still for a moment, I can try to see if I can assist you with your memory problems."

He reaches out, putting his palm on her forehead, and attempts to lay on hands to cure a disease. 

Dog takes a deep breath as soon as he realizes they teleported away. "I'm glad I didn't leave anything in the expensive room I booked for the night. I don't imagine I'll be going back there."

He looks around and tries to get his bearings. "Are we still in Masa? That whole caper was a catastrophe. Did you hear anything from Tock? Did he make it out safe? He's usually able to escape anything so I'm not very worried, but we really stirred up a hornet's nest. I hope it was worth it. We can meet up with the others -- I assume back at the tavern, though I'm not sure, we kind of left in a hurry despite all that planning -- after I digest what we came here for."

Looking around for any out-of-the-way spot, Dog sits down and immediately begins reading.

“We should drop these disguises. They’ll be looking for these women now,” Gash drops his disguise seeing how no one is around. “Yes we are in a park near the magic shop. I can use sending to send another message to Tock, he didn’t reply, and our new friends tailing An and Viv that we got what we need. We either should check on Tock or figure out if we’re leaving today or if we can get Bulwark to convince Nev we leave in the morning.”

So Tock obviously walks upstairs casually and tries to locate the ... but there are already people at the door, pounding away. Upon seeing he realizes that the situation has become way too hot. He will just turn around and walk away, all the way back to .. wherever they decided to meet up after all of this.

In between pages of the accord notes and the letters, Dog will drop his disguise, and say, in spurts, "if you can spare the energy to send to Tock and the new friends, sure. Would be good to gather.... And yes, we'll need to tell Nev we can leave first thing in the morning and make up something about waiting for horses. We've put her off long enough.... Last thing is we still wanted to check out the assassin, right? Maybe we can just go over to where they live and look at it and ask a neighbor what they know about them. We don't need to risk another catastrophe, as much as I'd like to take out the person to killed Ritter. Maybe those half-orc friends of his who let us into Ritter's house would like to know. They seemed tough. Maybe they'd handle the revenge part, if we can find out what we need to. But these papers might be enough. Let me finish reading them. Or I can read as we walk back to the tavern."

Are the letters between Axonia and Ritter in Common or at least not-celestial/infernal? If so, Dog will hand the letters over to Gash to read to save time.

"Right, I keep forgetting about that. We might keep up want to save our energy for a fight? Maybe we should just split up and make sure we have Martin and Tock back and ready before we go meet at Nev's place."

After about 20 minutes, the women stand, brush themselves and begin heading back towards Masa.

With no definite agreed upon meeting place, Tock finds himself down the block, close to where he was performing.

With only about 50 minutes left on the comprehend languages spell, Dog must read fast. He hands the letters to Gash, which are written in Common, and focuses on the draft of the Accords and Axonia's notes. It is a lot to take in in only 50 minutes. Much of it is legalese language identifying the parties involved and defining the terms and, in some cases, referring to precedent cases similar to this which, without any context, Dog cannot figure out what they were about.

After about 20 minutes of reading (leaving 30 minutes on the spell), Dog is able to confidently glean the following from the Accords:

• A cessation of all hostilities against each other.
• No representative of the Heavens or the Hells shall knowingly influence the Mother, the Child, or the Protectors, no matter their course of action.
• If, after 1 mortal year, the child has not secured Stewardship, the Adjudicator may appoint one representative from each party to intervene with a formal offer to the Mother.
• The Mother and the Protectors will maintain discretion in performing their duties as mother and protectors.
• In the event that the Heavens willfully or accidentally influence the Mother, the Protectors, or the Child, as determined by the adjudicator, they have agreed to release the following prisoners (list of 187 demons and devils.)
• In the event that the Heavens willfully or accidentally influence the Mother, the Protectors, or the Child, as determined by the adjudicator, they have agreed to forgo all contact with the mortal realm for 18 mortal years.
• The single exception to the above is that these Accords can be communicated to the Mother, the Child, or the Protectors without penalty, as long as they are communicated in such a fashion as to state the contents of the Accords without bias.
• Two copies of the Accords, each containing both the Celestial and Infernal translations of the document, will be publicly displaying in the Heavenic realm of Music and Poetry and the Hellic realm of Darkness. No copy of the final draft of the Accords will be kept in the Mortal realm once the Accords are formally implemented.
• These Accords shall begin when the Mother and the Child are reunited and not before that time.
• These Accords shall end once the Child is accepted by a Steward, which has knowingly agreed to raise the child, has the ability to protect the child, and has been deemed a worthy steward by the Adjudicator. Aucasia of Vallas and King Haddian of Alciondria are both examples of possible stewards.
• Upon the conclusion of the Accords, both parties agree to the chosen Steward to which the child is Ultimately entrusted in perpetuity. No further action will be taken to claim the Child, transfer her to a new Steward, or challenge the final ruling of the Adjudicator once the Accords have concluded.

Dog gives Gash the letters. The first one appears to be from Ritter with the location of the delegation of the Hells, which Gash and the party have already discovered at Ritter's house.

The second letter describes the Hells discussing the amulet they are using to control Neventi and how they need to insist the Accords state that only Neventi can decide the patron that will conclude the Accords.

Neventi backs up. "What are you doing? It is rude to cast magic on a person without their consent!" She sounds irrationally cross.

Tock heads back to the place where they ate at before starting this. 

Althus looks at Neventi in confusion, "I am a paladin. I have the ability to cure diseases with a touch. As you seem to be suffering from memory problems, I will attempt to cure whatever is the cause of them." 

"No! No no no no no," she says, shying away, even distancing herself from her own daughter. "No magic. Promise me no magic."

She paces back and  forth, Gentoa starting to worry at her mother's agitation.

"I can't, I can't, I can't," Neventi mutters to herself as she paces.

"Miss Neventi, magic is an essential part of life. Why are you so opposed to it?" 

Althus also uses his channel divinity, Emissary of Peace, giving him +5 to Persuasion checks for the next 10 minutes.

"Okay, I will head back to the tavern. Next time we try this sort of thing and split up, we should plan a place at which to meet afterward. Also floating past windows and getting caught. That was bad. So you're checking to see if they're at the place you gathered near before the Inn, and I'm heading to the tavern? And we're all meeting back at the tavern before deciding whether we go to check the assassin's house or go to Nev's? Tell me where the tavern is from here, and good luck, friend. Why don't you give me the letters, too. If you see a horse stable or provisioner along the way, we might need to get some travel things or Nev will explode."

Once things are squared away with Dog and Gash, Dog starts to do the thing where he's slowly walking and reading at the same time. He pops Stitches back from her other dimension and has her lay flat on top on his head, hiding in the headband, toggling back and forth between her eyes for a half second every once in a while, making sure he doesn't bump into anything, reading the papers nestled safely in his bag, which is itself cradled safely in his arms. People walking by him will see a large goliath, cradling a bag, peering intently inside, and grunting at anyone who gets too close. He walks to the tavern, keeping Stitches' eyes out for a place that looks like it might sell horses or a place that might sell travel gear. 

It's just past sundown, right? Do the gates close after sundown in Masa? Also Dog will do basically one or two checks to see if he's being followed or watched (perception: 11) as he walks through the city.

Once he gets to the tavern, he'll find a large table, and continue poring over the papers and letters. (If this counts as a short rest while he waits for his friends to return, amazing, and he'll get back a spell slot with arcane recovery.) From what he can tell, the Hells basically stuck their thumb on the scale before the accords were negotiated using kidnapping and mind control, and the Heavens either didn't know about this and walked into a trap, or they did know about this and either felt powerless to do anything about it or are absolutely terrible negotiators. There's a lot of penalties for the Heavens intervening intentionally or accidentally, but Dog sees no discussion of any penalty for the Hells doing the same? Also a great deal is left to this adjudicator (Passalwyck?). And there is a chance that the theft of the notes Dog is reading right now could constitute an accidental interference. Yet the notes of the accords also state that either side can communicate the contents of the accords to the protectors without bias, which makes Viviora's reticence puzzling.

There's also nothing in there about what the protectors can and cannot do -- apart from that they should maintain discretion. Which, if you take the last caper as some weird old ladies messing with an inn, that's one thing. If you take it for the protectors causing a scene and trying to get the heavens to accidentally interfere, that's another. But there's nothing that prevents the protectors from taking any discrete action to protect or influence the mother or child. So trying to fix Nev's mind should be okay. There's also no definition in there of what constitutes the protectors or who decides who those protectors are or will be?

And as for Aucasia, essentially the Accords do not decide the Steward -- no one does? The accords just end when Genny is with an appropriately qualified "chosen" steward after a year? The Mother is not set as the chooser?

Dog is beginning to conclude that they should just get on the road, likely first thing in the morning, and try to resolve this on the go.

(No short rest yet.)

Dog arrives back at Bounty to find Tock there, waiting. Nobody else has returned yet.

From what he can gather before his spell times out:

There's a lot of penalties for the Heavens intervening intentionally or accidentally, but Dog sees no discussion of any penalty for the Hells doing the same?

Sorry, I had a typo. The first penalty listed was for the heavens. The second was for the hells Thus, on re-reading it, Dog finds that:

• In the event that the Heavens willfully or accidentally influence the Mother, the Protectors, or the Child, as determined by the adjudicator, they have agreed to release the following prisoners (list of 187 demons and devils.)
• In the event that the Hells willfully or accidentally influence the Mother, the Protectors, or the Child, as determined by the adjudicator, they have agreed to forgo all contact with the mortal realm for 18 mortal years.

Also a great deal is left to this adjudicator.

Yes.

Yet the notes of the accords also state that either side can communicate the contents of the accords to the protectors without bias, which makes Viviora's reticence puzzling.

Viviora does not read or write Celestial, so has not actually read the Accords. Dog already knows them better than Viviora does now. Axonia, was clearly too afraid to discuss them directly with the protectors.

There's also no definition in there of what constitutes the protectors or who decides who those protectors are or will be?

It is defined in there, as is The Mother and The Child and the Heavens and the Hells and agents of both. It is clearly referring to Dog's party, including the new additions AND those who have left.

And as for Aucasia, essentially the Accords do not decide the Steward -- no one does? The accords just end when Genny is with an appropriately qualified "chosen" steward after a year? The Mother is not set as the chooser?

They can end before that. If, after a year, no steward is chosen, then there is a contingency. If a steward accepts the job before then, the accords end with both parties accepting the outcome.

"I..." she says. "I don't know. I use magic. Magic is..."

A powerful surge of magic wracks Neventi's body and she falls in a heap on the ground, breathing now ragged. Gentoa begins crying. To make matters more confusing, Friend arrives with a note from Gash, calling everyone back to the tavern Bounty.

As soon as Dog sees Tock, he breathes a sigh of relief. [Winenose, feel free to read back into all my recent spoilers to MD and Gash.] Dog begins to quietly and discretely show him the letters and papers, explain what he's learned, and what happened at the inn. He asks, "What happened to you? We were worried!"

He also asks Tock if he thinks they should look into the assassin or just focus on the accords and getting moving. "Lots of this we can figure out as we go. But I don't want Nev to begin to pull away from us. Maybe we should check on her now and assure her we're leaving first thing in the morning. Need to find transportation and provisions again."

He sighs, long and deep, exhausted, despite no recent combat.

Martin gets up to go speak to the women. “Excuse me, pardon me, I was hoping I could have a minute or two of your time.”

Bulwark strides towards Nevs body and attempts to remove her necklace. (Don't know what check this would be if one is required.)

Tock says, "Oh I didn't understand you succeeded and I couldn't reply to Gregory as I was mid-conversation with the butler. He was an understanding fellow though and there was too much of a mess already going on, so I decided to come back here." 

Tock puts on and activates his helm for kids who cant read good and want to learn how to do other stuff good too, which is to say he can read all languages now.

But he naturally knows Celestial, more than the level of basic understanding that the Comprehend Languages gives.

After skimming the documents briefly he wonders aloud, "Do we have any idea who the adjucator could be? We kind of were influenced by the devils already.."