The Wildemount Irregulars (2020)

Balassar comes down stretching and grabbing breakfast. As Silent sets the plan he just nods "Sounds good to me."

You make your way along the familiar route to the building where the Crownsguard has their base, and find the small desk where you've found Captain Fray before.  The halfling is busy signing documents, an aide standing at her side carrying a large stack of papers for her to get to.  She looks up as you approach and her eyes widen.  Back so soon?  What did you run into?

Around you, the normal sense of business has an element of urgency to it, beyond what you've encountered before.  Not panic or anxiety, just increased speed and purpose.

Silent leans over the desk and, keeping his voice low, says, Might be best to take this somewhere... a little more private. Things got weird. Immediate problems might've been solved but there's something afoot. 

Private, Fray mutters.  Hmmm. 

She stands, and leads you down a busy corridor with many crates of unknown contents stacked along the right side.  She knocks on a door, opens it without waiting, and has a muffled conversation with the occupant.  Thirty seconds later, the door opens and a disgruntled older elf scowls at you all as he walks off and lets you have the use of his office.  Don't let them touch anything, he says loudly and obviously to Fray as he leaves.

Inside, Fray settles in the too-large chair, and there are similar human-sized chairs for all, and none for halflings.  This is a common experience outside Felderwin.  Fray invites you to sit.  We have this place for half an hour, give or take.  What's going on?

Alton scrambles up into one of the chairs and sits down with a goofy smile as he feels like a kid again in the big chair. "You know how you asked us to look into the giants attacking people on the road. Well, we did and found a wizard hiding out in a tower that the tracks of the giants led us to. We tried to bring the wizard back with us, but all his skin fell off and looked all undead like. He also had red eyes like the giants, but Silent had to kill him which turned him to dust and the giants back to normal; and they wandered off back to the mountains. That's the short version anyway. I'm working out a much better story to tell." 

I... uh, well, wizards, am I right?  Fray looks embarrassed at her weak attempt at humour, and sighs.  I'm glad to hear it, and gladder to see you well.  Did you see any evidence of what the wizard was trying to do?  Any connection with the enemy of course, or anything else that was motivating these attacks?

Silent looks at Alton for just a moment, remembering what the wizard was yelling about, but says nothing and allows Alton to continue steering the conversation. 

Alton nervously tugs at his topknot, "Um, well... We found mostly books, some notes, and a map; but none of it made any sense."

Books, notes and a map?  Fray shrugs.  Okay, then.  Let me take them and find someone to go through them.  You brought them with you, right?

Alton looks down, "About those. I did grab them and a few of the books, but I need them too. Some of the markings look very similar to what is the journal my great grandfather left behind. I just don't want to give up the only possible clue that could lead me to whatever he found." Alton looks back up, "There is one more thing to add. The wizard, or whatever it was, did lose his mind a bit when he saw me."

Fray stares at Alton for a moment.  That's an odd story.  Thank you for telling me.  I'm afraid I do have to requisition this criminal's belongings, though - anything that can guide us to understand this, and maybe if there's someone else behind him we might have to deal with in future.  I'm happy for you to have access to them, as long as they're here.  Though I expect they'll be sent to the Cerberus Assembly in a few days.

(Fray clearly still expects you to hand everything over.  If you want to try to persuade her otherwise, tell me how - and give me a Persuasion check.  If you want to keep some items back, that would be a Sleight of Hand check.)

Does Alton hand over the books?

Alton takes a deep breath, "I appreciate letting me get access while they are here. Though, I'll only hand them over if I can get them back when you're done. I get knowing a potential threats to the Empire is important, but this is also too important to me to just hand over and have disappear in the Assembly. Would you let something important to you go? Like a lost family ring, if it was found in a crazed wizard's stuff. I'd like to help and work with you guys and not get myself, or my friends, in trouble, so this is the best I can offer." 

Persuasion: 15 

(OOC:  Good roll!)

Fray stares at you for a moment, closes her eyes and sighs.  Then she opens them and looks directly at you.  It's a shame you didn't bring any of the books from the tower.  But no matter.  I expect that in due course there will be someone free to go take a look at this tower.  In the meantime, if you should... 'discover' anything that will help defend the Empire, I hope you will share it.  From whatever source it may come.  

So, you destroyed the cause of the problem.  I think we agreed two hundred and fifty gold each for that.  And I'll take the ashes, if you have them - the Assembly will probably want to take a sniff.

She signs a note and goes to the door to hand it to a passing guardsman, who scurries off to fetch your money.

Silent fishes out the ashes and is more than happy to hand them over. The Assembly... where can we find 'em if we wanna talk to 'em? Once they've done their poking around and come up with somethin', I mean. 

In Zadash, Fray replies.  I'll be headed there soon - tomorrow perhaps.  But you'd best be getting back to Felderwin, I think.  I've written to the Lawmaster to explain your long absence, but you're still bound by the agreement you've made.  Until you negotiate an out.  Which I think you've earned by now, but not my call.

Silent offers a hand to shake. Appreciate it, Captain. Whatever my issues were with the Lawmaster, you’ve done right by us and I ain’t gonna forget that. 

(OOC: Silent has nothing else he needs to get done here; he’ll defer to Alton and Balassar if they have anything else they want to talk about)

Alton gives Fray a big smile, "Thank you Captain Fray, and if we do find anything of importance we will send it your way." 

Fray shakes Silent's hand warmly, and nods to you all.  Safe travels to you. And thank you again. And now, we'd better vacate this office before its usual occupant overheats.

(She will answer any question you have, before ushering you all outside.  She will also pay you the agreed amount of 250 gold each for solving the red-eyed giant problem, and 100 each for the one giant you killed - you told her about that, right?)

You stand in the street outside the Crownsguard headquarters in the early morning. What's the plan?

Balassar just stands on the street looking at his companions "Shall we get back on the road?"

OOC:
Balassar will definitely have talked about that for the extra money