After everyone is done with shopping, 9 will briefly visit the temple before going to the gala. 

Nemeia finishes up at the artificer and starts to realize she's rather hungry. She begins wondering the town looking for something that looks appetizing. 

As the day presses on, everyone eventually finds their way back together to enjoy a satisfying meal at a small but comfortable restaurant not far from the bookstore. After which they make their way back to the tailor shop they visited earlier to pick up their outfits. While they're there they get their final fittings, as well as a dress for Nemeia. From there everyone heads back to the Sturdy Unicorn to prepare for the big party ahead of them. Where Lynn no so subtly suggests to everyone that a bath would be very appropriate as part of their preparations.

Once said preparations complete, and the time of the gala upon them, the entire party, decked out in their brand new finery, made their way to the Castle proper to head into the Season's End Royal Gala.

Walking up to the castle you all get the sense that the structure is somehow larger then you realized as you get closer to it. Another thing that immediately grabs your attention is the rows of Royal Guards, their armor well worn but gleaming in a way that spoke to the care in which it was maintained. The Royal Guards lined either side of the pathway leading into the gala itself. It's clear you are absolutely surrounded by guards as you enter here, and some of you begin to wonder if this is perhaps some sort of display or show of force on behalf of the crown.

At the end of the walkway the huge double set of double doors that lead past the castle threshold and into the ball room past are wide open to provide a display of true grandeur from the glances of the equally huge room beyond. However the way is blocked by another row of Royal guards, who let in guests once at a time as a royal maitre'd of sorts welcomes each guests once he ensures the validity of their invitation.

Lynn-Marie, having received her own invitation, needs only give her name and is let in without issue. For the rest of the group it takes a moment as they explain they are guests of Duke Hakon.

"Ah yes, the rabble invited by Count Hakon you mean? He did make a very specific note of that." The maitre'd eventually explains, clearly not a fan of Hakon, and by association the rest of the party.

Still from there the group is let in without issue, and you all see before you a grand spectacle that, save for perhaps one or two of you, is beyond the expectation one might have of a Royal Gala. Grand chandeliers and massive precision glass decorations spanning the entire breath of the ceiling give the entire massive ball room an almost starry quality to it. Massive tables with nearly thousands of chairs provide everyone with a place to sit while still leaving a huge space in the middle for a proper dancing area. At the end of the hallway is the largest table of them all, sat atop a high raise dais with the most extravagant seating, this is clearly reserved for the queen and her entourage as one would expect. Though the queen herself is yet to arrive. The entire ball room, from the wall decorations to the basic cutlery at every table, is meticulously designed with a decor that draws from both elven and dwarven styles.

Currently the ball room is filled with guests, despite how early it is in the night, though the size of the ball room ensures the place still feels very spacious despite all the people it contains. There are many immaculately dressed servers walking about the room offering a selection of wine and Hors d'Oeuvres as they move between the gathered guests.

Before the Summer's Treason lies this grand royal spectacle, surrounded by the highest nobles and royals of the kingdom among them.

Moira

The grandeur of the evening only ruined slightly by the rude comments of the maitre'd I resolve to enjoy the night either way. I start moving through the room greeting the other guests, sampling the hors d'oeuvres and looking to see where any other entrances to the room might be. "Hello, I'm Moira. Nice to meet you. Have you tried the little grey puffy things? They're great."

Witt pulls at his collar, closes his eyes, offers a silent prayer to the Harvest Watcher, opens his eyes, smiles broadly and only partially insincerely, and sets off in a random direction determined to talk to the first person he bumps into.  I suppose, he muses in his mind, I did want an adventure.  Harvest Watcher, watch over your foolish cleric as he makes an almighty arse of himself.

Once they found themselves inside the actual ball room, Sora looked about briefly before sighing and proclaiming, perhaps a bit loudly, "Yup, I already hate this party." From there she remained close to the others for the most part though she did try to stear the group slowly toward the end of the room so she could have a good look at the queen when she finally made an appearance. While they waited she took advantage of the time to immediately start looking for ways to get out of the ballroom unnoticed and into the actual castle. 

Khorzik turns towards Sora and speaks quietly to her. "It's not a party, it is a mission. I will remain within an acceptable distance to Kal'duros, for communication purposes. I will await your signal." He adopts a look of superiority that he imagines is appropriate for these functions. He relies on his strange garb, hobgoblin heritage, and the cloud of incredibility cheap perfume hovering around him to act as a shield to conversation. Khorzik then grabs a drink from a passing server and begins wandering about the room while trying to keep relatively close to his companions. He makes a note of every entrance and exit - in particular those used by the servants. He also marks the location of every guard and whether their helmets provide any blind spots. Finally, he attempts to eavesdrop on any servant conversion in hopes of picking up a name or two.

(If needed: Investigation for exits / guards:  15, Perception: 21)

Khorzik and Sora work together to case out the castle from within. To such an extent, in fact, that they might look suspicious elsewhere. However Khorzik's exotic looks and distinct aura ( of mostly cheap cologne ) manage to convince everyone so far that your actions are merely eccentric rather then nefarious. 

Eventually Khorzik spots a single door that is clearly only used by servants, one that doesn't lead the the main kitchen but rather deeper into the castle. Sora also is able to catch that there is a guard stationed not far from the door. In fact there are Royal Guards stationed at every reasonable exit of the room, and a few unreasonable ones like the large nearby windows. However this particular service entrance is only being watched by a single guard and at a good distance from the door such that it would be possible to slip past should he be distracted long enough.

While this is happening Moira wanders to a group of very well dressed but clearly not closely related guests from the far too casual and slightly passive aggressive tone to their small talk which they don't bother to hide. At her introduction and comment about the puffy appetizers one of the people in the group pipes up quite abrasively, "Ah yes the herbal cheese puffs, quite the rage last year but it's been done to death since then. Very passe of the Queen to rehash this out of fashion commoner's snack if you ask me."

"As usual you are ever so lacking in any semblance of empathy, dear." Another person at the group shoots back in a polite tone that's clearly intended to insult, "Our Queen did just lose her mother recently, and yet you would deny her a simple comfort because you deem it unfashionable. I dare say I hope you didn't trade in that heart of yours for a sense of fashion, because you've somehow ended up with neither."

This bickering continued back and forth.

By contrast in a different direction, Witt came upon a good looking, perhaps slightly older, but surprisingly bored looking gnomish woman, in a simple but nice looking purple dress that he could have sworn had a gear looking pattern stitched into it. It was an abstract pattern to be sure, but far too precise in the placement of each curve and line.

Moira

”It was...nice to have met you.” And I move away again looking around and making small talk with the other guests. This time looking for someone who looks a bit friendlier. 

(FYI I had Rusty dismisses when we entered. While looking around the room I am looking for an opportunity to summon him outside of the room an to hide.)

Perception : 12

Slight of Hand : 21

9 will try to find a less crowded and more quiet place in the main hall with good visibility on to the queen’s eventual seat. She asks Sora to inform her when they will start moving, for now sitting in her place and silently observing the crowd with a disinterested look. While a servant was passing nearby, she stopped them briefly, ”Is there a particular plan or program for the evening?”, she tries to be somewhat friendly, but ends up being the same as usual.

Perception: 12 + 4

Witt stares at the gnome woman's dress and the gear for a long, long time until she finally notices and he notices that she's noticed.  Oh, sorry.  I was... well, I was staring at your dress.  The gear design.  It's really unusual, I don't think I've ever seen such a thing, at least not so ornate and of course I wasn't expecting to see something like that at a party like this, not that I've ever been to a party like this before, not with so many people and certainly not with so many rich people.  It's so intricate.  The gear design, not the party, though the party is probably intricate in its own way, but the gear is fascinating and looks like it might be quite difficult to create, does it have any particular significance?  He pauses for breath.

Khorzik andrs about aimlessly, pretending to be primarily interested in the decadent food. He approaches Kal and offers him a tiny cookie with some kind of jelly on it. He speaks slightly louder than needed. "Try these, so good." He then turns and whispers while gesturing while pretending to adjust his dress uniform. "Servant door. That way. One guard. There. Please tell everyone." Khorzik then returns to idly wandering about, pretending to be a foreigner amazed by everything here. He stays within sight of the door.

Sora moved over to Khorzik after he returned from speaking with Kal, speaking a bit loudly in order to better sell their cover. "Lord Khorzik, you simply must try these puffs. They're quite an iconic flavor of the land if you ask me." As she handed him the appetizer she leaned in closer whispering to him, "I want to wait till after the queen arrives to make our move. I wanna get a sense of her in person, but also once she's here it should help keep eyes off us."

Khorzik shoves the puff into his mouth an makes a show of enjoying the savory mix of eel and spicy mustard. "Fascinating! We have nothing comparable back home!" He whispers back to Sora. "A sound strategy. I can disguise myself as a servant to gain access and render another invisible to follow. I could return and repeat this process twice, allowing up to three others in total ingress. However, suspicions may arise if I employ this technique repeatably and with too great a frequency."

Kal slips into the gala on the heel of Lynn-Marie. He keeps the cowl of his garment over the lower half of his face and the hood up. Having performed guard duty in the past he makes sure to keep his hands appropriately visible and makes eye contact with the Royal Guards as he comes to them. Reassuring them that he understands the protocol and has no intent to make trouble. It is a funny thing, the demeanor is more of a shared experience as body guards and house guards are typically on the same side of things. Though in the worlds of intrigue, sometimes the house guard is just waiting to strike. 

As they mingle into the general populace of the party, Kal does his best to keep in a fairly central location to all of the party. Sometimes suggesting to Lynn that they drift one way or another to maintain communication.

Kal spreads Khorz message of the servant door to everyone and the possibilities of infiltration. 

DM:

The passing server barely looks at 9 as she offers her one of the tiny sandwiches from her plate. "The queen will be making her appearence soon. Other then that they don't really tell me anything about any other plans for the evening. My apologies."

Meanwhile the gnome that Witt was talking to spent a moment just looking at him with a stoic but amused gaze. "I would ask if you're not from around here, but frankly it's so obvious that I kinda feel like asking would be a bit of an insult. I'm glad you like the dress though, it's a bit of a prototype. Well, the device I built to help stich the pattern is the actual prototype. This is just a nice dress I bought for the party. Anyway, why don't we try to take this from the top and start with our names. Hi there, my name's Kriniana, but everyone just calls me Krin. What's your name?"

While Khorzik and Sora continue playing their part, it seems, by all accounts that everyone is convinced their act is genuine. Likewise, as Kal'duros takes on the bodyguard role he knows so well he looks about the room taking in a sense of the Royal Guard's intentions. As expected, they all seem solely concerned with keeping the festivities civil and safe. In particular they also are focused on protecting the crown, which includes guarding the entrances into the castle to prevent any unwanted guests during the festivities. Beyond that they have no ulterior motive that Kal can sense.

9 drills the server’s back with her gaze for a moment, remaining at her spot and waiting for the Queen to emerge. She spots the rest of her group, reassuring herself that they are all fine. 9 also glances at the entrance pointed out by Sora and Khorzik, trying to think where they would go first to find any evidence. She tried to keep her mind out of this place, it somehow brought uneasy feelings to her. Does she have to make everyone wait so long? Not a good impression so far.

Oh, hello Krin, Witt says, abashed.  I maybe should have introduced myself first?  Sorry.  Mostly the parties I've been to were in my home village, where I knew everyone already and was related to a lot of them.  I'm Witt.  Surprisingly, that's not even short for 'Wittless'.  It's just Witt.  And... a device?  To sew patterns onto clothes?  That's interesting.  I've never heard of such a thing.  Is it like an automaton?  I have a friend who makes... he looks around, oh, I don't see her.  Well, its a lovely dress and the pattern is very eye-catching.

perception : -1

"Thank you Witt. Always a pleasure to have your efforts be appreciated." Krin smiled clearly proud of her work, "So you have a friend who's interested in the mechanical? Sounds like someone I'd like to meet. It's always nice to meet others who share a passion for creating with your own two hands. Ah, but I don't mean to imply anything, everyone has the things they're good and and passionate about. And sometimes if you're lucky they're both the same thing. What about you Witt? What's your skills that you're passionate about?"

As this conversation continued, others in the party would soon find themselves in a completely different kind of conversation. It was Sora that spotted the familiar figure first. Wearing an outfit that while still holding to traditional patterns somehow still managed to be even more pointlessly grandiose then before. With gold accented gems stitched into just about every piece of clothing he was wearing, the man who insists on being called Duke Hakon approached the party with the same charming smile he had long ago perfected.

"Ah my friends of the Summer's Treason, so glad to you could make it to these festivities. I do hope our little project has been progressing to our mutual satisfaction." Hakon said smoothly as he walked closer to the group with a commanding posture. Everything about his presence exuded his confidence and sense of superiority, but his eyes still held a focus of an obviously keen mind very carefully and deliberately moving pieces around him. In this case, however, he wasn't alone.

"Oh, are these the people you told me about? What a unique joy to meet you all in person. My dear Duke here has said many positive things about you." A beautiful elf woman stepped next to Hakon. Pitch black eyes paired with pitch black straight hair that fell sharply down her back, framed by the sharp features of her perfectly elegant elven face. She wore a matching pitch black tight fitting sleeveless dress with a very deep V cut giving her a very genuinely gorgeous appearance that contrasts deeply with the Duke's superfluous style. Both of them eyeing those of the group who happened to be close by with perhaps overly pleasing gazes.