In the morning, we all gather together to talk about the party. When I come down, Red’s asking Nevi about a magic dagger. Then Red says he heard that the third stone might be in play. He says the Cassalanter’s, those demon worshippers whose tomb we robbed all those months ago, that they might have it. We talk about checking out their place, finding out if they have other properties, and what other ways we can investigate. But there’s a knock at the door.

That mage from the Bard College job is here, looking for Red. He goes out and I listen. The guy says Red stole his dagger at the party last night. I don’t remember seeing him there, and Red says he just found it, and is glad to return it to him. But the man says Red is under arrest and takes him away. Page messages him, but he says he’s fine and keep on task.

Red had a plan. We have to stick to it. Marr Mouse and the Big Guy are going to go look at property records. Page and I are going to go scout the house from the street. Orange and Nevi are going to go check out the sewers for a way in from below.

Page makes us invisible and we go check it out. There’s a big fence all around, and three different buildings. A stable, a guest house, and a big mansion. The buildings all back up to the fence, though, that should make it fairly easy going. There’s lots of guards though, going to have to be real careful. Guards on the gate and the doors, and wandering around the lawns. We head back to the Cabaret before her spell wears off and check in with the others.

Mary Mouse and Svetel say they own a couple of other places, but not really. They invest in other businesses, but don’t run them or something. They mostly trade in spices and other goods, but it’s all old business, that went bad some time ago. Then things went bad for one of their rivals more recently, and they got back on top. Orange and Nevi say there’s no way in through the sewers, just tiny drainage pipes coming out. Only a real mouse could get in that way. So, Page and I go back in the night, to see what changes after dark.

There are a lot more guards at night, but no one goes in or out. In the morning, all the guards leave when a new set of guards arrive. And a couple servants go out to the guest house to clean it up, even though it doesn’t seem like anyone was in there to begin with. When we get home, Page checks on Red again, and he says it’s just a matter of due process, so she and I get some sleep while the others investigate more.

When we get up, everyone’s back, and there’s not really any news on the Stone. So, I decide I have to go inside. Red said to investigate, to not wait for him. This is what he would do. Everyone starts talking about spells they can cast on me to help. They can make me invisible, faster, smarter, wiser, slipperier, and healthier. I can pull my shadows around me, and I can teleport short distances now, to get in and out.

We all head over through the sewers. A few blocks away, they all cast their spells and then take up positions to watch for guard movement. I head up and shadowstep up to a third floor window. It has shutters, but I easily get them open. The room is dark, but I can just see inside, and step into the shadows on the other side of the glass. Too dark, I pop darkvision up and look around.

It’s a big bedroom, with dressers and armoires. There seems to be someone in an adjoining room in one direction, so I slip the other way. This room is lit up, a library. I really want to go through all the books, but there’s one really big and creepy out set out. It looks scary, and it’s open, so that must be the important one. I pop it into the bag I borrowed from Nevi. There’s a ladder up to a trapdoor, so I have to go up.

The trapdoor is really heavy, but I get it open and slip inside. There’s just a single candle on a stool here. It smells like sulfur and there’s screaming from the other side of a door. I don’t like that sound, so I wedge the trapdoor open a little bit. There are some big spiders on either side of the door. I wonder if the candle means anything, so I pick it up and bring it to the door. Nothing happens. It is very locked, so I reach out to unlock it and the spiders start talking. They say I shouldn’t open the door. They say it’s really dangerous inside. I make a picture of the stone we found and ask if they’ve seen it. They haven’t. I need to see if it’s inside, so I unlock the door anyway. The spiders don’t like that and they attack me, but they aren’t spiders anymore, they’re little imps, from some of the books I’ve been reading. So, I squish them. Now I’m not invisible anymore. Page messages me, but I tell her everything’s okay. Can’t stop now.

When I open the door, the sound gets really loud, so I rush back and close the trapdoor. No one seems to have heard it, so back I go. Inside is something awful. A devil with all sorts of chains on him. He’s in the center of a circle and he’s howling. He looks really sad and trapped and sick? Like they trapped him here and are hurting him. I get him to calm down a little, and try to ask him about the stone. He wants me to get closer to him. I ask him to promise to help me. He just keeps saying closer, and he won’t promise. So, I look around the room more. Behind him is a mannequin with a sailor’s uniform, and a picture of a young man. It looks like a shrine to their son lost at sea. Did they really lose him? Did they turn him into this thing and then trap it here? I really want to let him free, but I’m pretty sure he would eat me, he looks so hungry.

I go back down. To the Library, closing the door and trapdoor behind me. I slip back into the bedroom, but someone is in there now. A tiefling woman, who seems to be cleaning. I slip past her, into the sitting room and out into the hallway. There’s a room across the hall, but I can hear someone in there, so I head downstairs.

There’s a ballroom here. With a mannequin in the center of it, all dressed up. That’s creepy. There’s a banquet hall, and a music room, and a small kitchen on the second floor, too, but nothing that looks like it would hide the stone. I head downstairs again, but there’s voices now. Guards at the bottom of the stairs. Everything is so well lit down here, and I’m not invisible. I can’t get past them.

I head back upstairs, and out onto the terrace around the ballroom. There are some birds up here, but I think I can get to the guest house if I go around the building. I sneak around and shadow step across to a window on the guest house. There are more ravens over here. They’re looking at me. How can they see me? No time. I slip inside again, through the shadows. The guest rooms are all empty. There’s nothing here. It’s taking too long, time to go. When I get out, there are even more ravens, but I just jump out over the fence and take off home. I tell the others it’s over. Pretty sure I’m going to need to hide in Skullport for a while.

At home, I give over the big scary book, and write down what I found in the attic. Maybe that will be enough for the Blackstaff to investigate them. Worship is okay, but is holding a devil prisoner allowed? I hope not. That poor devil was in horrible shape. Orange is still on about the brain eater, so we suggest asking the Dustsweepers about any weird sewer reports to try and track him down. Then it’s time for bed. I’m going to have to sneak down below in the morning, but I need to sleep right now.