Boko listens, and nods, and then hoists the priestess over her shoulder. "She deserves more. Perhaps she will find her own salvation, or grace, or justice, in this tower. I do not think that harbor is filled with just water. This place is vile, and not just in a moral or societal sense."

Qivys walks along by himself, following the others. He tugs at the hair just under his lip, lost in thought. 
He casts an eye around him, just to make sure the party is not being followed but he is still deeply involved with his own thoughts. 
This place is dark and there is something unwholesome about it, that is for sure. But, is it just the way humans live or is there something deeper affecting the land and its inhabitance. 

Thwack 

We have mission. Thwack walks with purpose next to Peri. The group seemed a little fractured, like siblings fighting, but Thwack was used to that. His whole society functioned in a similar way. His concern was Peri. The halflings mood had changed since they had arrived in The Styes. As they walk towards the tower he pays close attention to his friend. 

The light feels like evening even though you know it is only mid-afternoon. The gloom hangs low, and smoke and soot hang in the air. A thin grunge clings to your skin, making everyone's complexion a little greyer. 

You walk across a broad but janky wooden bridge, ancient, filthy, and well-trodden, depositing you in what you've been told is called the High Quarter.

On the far side of the bridge, a militia patrol (seven guards and a captain) approaches. "Out-of-towners! Entry tax, if you please. Ten gold a head. Five for the corpse," declares the captain, spying Janore's body slumped over Boko's shoulder. The captain waits with her hands clasped behind her back.

Peri:

Given his current mood and the generally corrupt nature of this place, Peri's first inclination is to shove this idiot guard off the bridge, into the canal. But he restrains himself, instead summoning his Astral Visage to give the guard a penetrating stare. "Lord Gerrard Feldren has come to deliver critical information to the rulers of this... town. Stand aside."

((Insight to see if this guard is just shaking us down: 22; if he is, Intimidation to get him to drop it: 19))

Qivys stays quiet, allowing the other to sort this banditry out. 

Gerrard:

Gerrard affects a bored expression, nodding along with Peri's assessment.  He seems mildly irritated by the situation, but more than willing to let Peri take care of it.

Peri has seen enough shakedowns by city guards in his travels to immediately recognize one. But Peri's stern demeanor (and nat 20) and possibly the name "Feldron" seem to dissolve their resolve to extract a bribe from out-of-towners. They stand aside. "Council Hall" she directs, pointing west across yet another arm of foul water. "But the Councillors are likely at home today."

Gerrard:

”Thank you, Captain,” says Gerrard, moving towards the tower with his entourage as if the guards had just been offering directions the whole time, not trying to shake them down.

You continue on without incident. You pass the rundown manor and its massive, inert, stone guardians, together with a couple of other glum, stone buildings. After a few minutes, you find yourselves standing before the imposing entrance to Thornwell Tower.

The door to Thornwell Tower is a massive, intricately-carved double door made of black and red wood,  polished to an almost-reflective sheen. It is adorned with arcane symbols and runes, etched into the wood with great precision. The door appears to be seamlessly sealed, lacking any visible handles or knobs. You feel an unnatural chill in the air, and an unsettling aura seems to emanate from the sealed entrance. 

Thwack 

Thwack snarls, teeth bared, at the guards as the group passes. He didn't appreciate being bullied. That was something he had to deal with back in the clan. His new found friends had given Thwack a measure of respect and he liked the feeling.

"Whoa!" His impression of the carved and, presumably, enchanted door evident. "Thwack try to open?" he asks meekly.

"I am not sure you can there Thwack." Qivys says. "I believe it's magical and would need magic to open it." 

Boko, still carrying Janore’s body, stops before the tower. She asks if they should knock. She’s beginning to lose track of who they are even here for. She realizes that they should have asked their procanite friend more about what has happened for the last six months.

The grim tower stands silent and impenetrable, the knobless door into the walled courtyard exuding an unnatural and unnerving aura. The streets are empty, although you know a militia patrol is not far off. The "day" is ominously dark and humid, a foul-smelling breeze occasionally wafting off the stinking inner harbor. There are no signs of life immediately apparent from Thornwell Tower. 

Gerrard:

Clearing his throat, Gerrard steps forward and addresses the tower in a calm but clear voice.  As there is no obvious bell or knocker to announce their presence, he does so himself.

”Councillor Thornwell, We bring you important news of an imminent threat to your city and request an audience,” says Gerrard.

If there is no answer, he will reach out and touch the door, thinking that might also act as a notification to the inhabitants that they have visitors.

The door, ice-cold to Gerrard's touch, opens into dimly-lit, enclosed foyer. The air smells cool and sweet, of incense or perfume.

A young human man, dressed in a formal black and red uniform, stands on the other side of the door. He is well-groomed, with a neat appearance and a subdued demeanor. "Please tell me the nature of this threat. But first, what are your names, and on whose authority or reference do you come to Thornwell Tower this day?"

Gerrard:

”I am Gerrard Feldren, and I come beating grave news of a pending invasion,” says Gerrard.  “I come on behalf of a slain priestess of Procan, at the request of the Council is Uskarn, and with evidence my friends and I have seen with our own eyes at Firewatch.”

The young noble gives a curt nod to the doorman and indicates the others in his party should introduce themselves if they wish.

The young man makes a slightly distasteful face at the mention of Uskarn, but it quickly passes. He ushers you into the antechamber. "And who or what is doing the invading? Not Uskarn, I presume..."

Peri:

Peri turns to Qivys. "Strange customs in this place. Where I'm from, when someone comes to your home and introduces themselves it's considered extraordinarily ruse not to do likewise. If that person was nobility from a neighboring territory, and they claimed to be bearing such important news? I'd never live down the shame of such rudeness."

Thwack 

At Gerrards behest Thwack introduces himself. "Me is Thwack. Me come here because Bernard, Terry and Kivers say to come. Me owe Berry since he save me from lonely rocks so I do what he say. He nice, not rude like you". He smiles, as only a kobold could, full of teeth that looks more like a snarl.