Rath listens and watches, and he tries not to show his skepticism when Thyrandas describes the Sun Disks as ... what was it? ... the key to Stormhaven's continued prosperity under a wise and benevolent ruler. More than a little self-serving, Rath thinks, but he shrugs to himself. A ruler may serve himself and his city. There are shadows of gray under Pelor's bright sun, and shadows are better than darkness.

As the tale unfolds, Rath confirms his first trepidacious thoughts -- the Mayor did not summon the company to offer his thanks. He's offering a job.

Pelor's well-lit arse! Aldo Rathmus thinks, with a sinking feeling in his gut. Lord Mayor thinks we can save his city.

Inas uncrosses his arms and hooks one hand on his belt and rests the other on his sword.

After a few moments he recrosses his arms.

Generally, he looks uninterested . . . and unimpressed.

Rulers come, rulers go, he thinks.  What does it matter?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:49, Wed 27 Jan 2016.

Saliq wished Eagle was still one of their company. Galadel seemed a fine sort but with their longer aquaintence Saliq had taken to looking on the druid as their spokesperson for matters spiritual.

"Lord Thyrandas this is indeed most troubling news. What has the wizard's guild said on these matters?"

Listening to more of the talk, Galadel takes a deep breathe and sighs, his head is still bowed, he seems far away when begins to talk.

"My Goddess, all blessings upon her,  Ioun speaks to my heart, a game is in play, strings being pulled, a gambit at work,  very.....very high stakes, a razors edge must be walked.." he suddenly blinks and looks up at the Lord Mayor.

"The foreigners take their orders from far, far away, if they oppose the Order of the Invincible Sun, regardless, Ioun demands I stand against them.  I cannot speak for these others here, they are brave and skilled far beyond myself, but what do you ask of me?"

The Lord's demeanor shifts subtly upon Saliq's mention of the Wizard's Guild, a look of slight distaste overcoming him briefly.

"The Mage Guild has been quiet on the affair," he says diplomatically, "but have offered their support of the cause and have sanctioned its pursuit for guild members."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:30, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

"Thank you, Galadel. I would ask you to recover the three sun disks, and learn the fate of Rothgar, Galafried and Walafried. Take a stand against those who would see to the city's undoing!" he adds with gusto.

He further explains he will compensate the heroes for their service, offering a princely sum of 5,000 gold pieces from his treasury for retrieving the three gold disks and possibly, the three missing members of the Order, if they are still alive.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

"We will attempt to find your discs, Lord Mayor," Ben adds, with a brief brotherly clap on Galadel's shoulder to show his commitment to joining in on the adventure.

"Rather than dig so deeply into your coffers though, perhaps you could sign the deep of the tower over to us? That way we both profit, we get a home and haven, and the town has a tower with dedicated guardians within it's walls."

He hopes the others agree, but if they do not he hopes they will allow him to find some other way to recompense them for the loss should they not wish part of the tower which he feels will give him an aura of legitimacy within Stormhaven, maybe even a minor title.

Saliq sympathised with the man's feelings. From what he had heard of the guild the illusionist did not look forward to joining, though it seemed he had little choice in the matter if he wished to practice magic here.

He stays silent as Ben speaks, curious as to the mayor's response.

The Lord Mayor waves his hand, wearily warding off Ben's request. "Things are not quite as simple as you suggest," he adds in a fatigued tone. "What you ask for, I have no power to grant, for it rightly belongs to the Talas family, whether occupied or not."

"If I were to agree to such a thing, which is impossible, it would certainly gain Lord Harvan's attention. While he and I have no great affection for one another, giving sanction to such a dispossession would amount to an act of war between the Houses. Stormhaven can ill afford such a thing," he adds warily.

Ben was not at fault for suggesting it. The party simply had no grasp of the tenuous political tapestry holding the city together. Behind the scenes, Lord Thyrandas had worked tirelessly to maintain his position, a seat of power he was not entirely certain would forever remain in House Thyrandas.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:22, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

"Lord Mayor, is the loss of the golden discs known....I suppose what I mean to ask, is... are we to be discreet in our investigation, or will others be aware of our purpose and for whom we are working?"

The Lord Mayor indicates others are aware of the attack at the temple and the disks' theft, particularly among those frequenting the Temple of Pelor. He claims High Priest Harvan Lightbringer came to him, requesting the city's aid in the matter. As a longtime patron of the temple, the Lord Mayor felt obligated to help, and offered to use resources from his own coffers to secure the aid of adventurers of renown.

"Which is how I came to seek out each of you," he says.

"I had already heard the tale of your battle against the Horned One, and then when news reached my ears of Longshadows, I need look no further!" he adds with a satisfied smile.

He claims to have told no others of your involvement, save for his trusted courtiers, and High Priest Lightbringer has offered no reward of his own.

"Would we have your permission to attempt to get the Family to give the tower over to us of their own free will?"

"You are, of course, free to approach House Talas to gain the deed, should you choose to do so. The tower has sat vacant for some time, so it is not unreasonable to expect they might wish to profit from its sale."

Rath grows a sour smirk. He has barely started to think of the wealth already accumulated, and this proposed reward might as well be an offer of the moon itself. A man can only over-tip his barber and his ale-house wench so much. No doubt Ben can arrive at all manner of uses for this gold, and certainly Saliq's researches and princely lifestyle will eat into his reserves ... but Rath is at a loss. In truth, the potential rewards do more to give him a stomach-ache than to trip-hammer his heart with excitement. I must have gone mad somewhere along the way, Rath tells himself with a shrug.

But, in the end, the horse must come before the cart, even if the cart is full of gold, wanted or not.

He steps forward and nods, joining the others in agreeing to this task. Rath throws a small glance to Inas Eoinsson, who, alone among them all, seems reluctant to do this thing. Rath hopes he steps up. It will be stinky work, to be sure, but Rath can't think of another warrior he'd rather have at his side when facing reptilian hoards. Aside from Norion, of course, but that's not possible now, is it?

"Unless there is reason to start elsewhere, I believe a visit to the Temple of Pelor is in order.  Perhaps we can learn more about the missing, and about the nature of the enemy."

"Your thinking is on point my friend. Unless there is something more, Lord Mayor, we will begin our quest on your behalf."

He wondered if he had missed his chance to ask for some official title, but he did not wish to dwell on the reward, when the task was so important. He also felt no reason to press for more money, though he did wish his more well educated companions had asked over magical assistance. The fact that they hadn't probably meant they thought it was a bad idea, so he was willing to get moving...

Inas nods, although the covering on his face may make this hard to know.

Rath agrees to start at the temple.

After they left the lord mayor's presence Saliq draws Galadel aside.

"Thyrandas evidently does not think much of the Wizard's Guild but you are a member, right? Perhaps it is worth doing a little digging there too. For all we know renegade magicians may work with this 'cult', or even be the true powers behind."

He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should join too."

Ben kind of wished he too had a goatee, so he could stroke it in such a thoughtful manner.

"It is true I have recently joined the Guild, so recently in fact, I am myself just finding my way around.  But it couldn't hurt to make some inquiries.  I am guessing after we visit the scene of the attack, we may want to visit several of our contacts throughout the city and do some research.  Perhaps even a visit to Drucilla would be useful.  Ben, I am certain there are brokers in the city that could represent us, anonymously, and inquire about the availability of the Tower.  It should be discounted, I understand it is full of rotting dead, stirges, spiders, and has some significant fire and lightning damage, and is haunted to boot..." he smiles at this last.

Rath grunts. "And if the owners don't want to sell," he mutters, "well, that's just a bad sign."

"I was hoping to use our knowledge of a vampire family member to our advantage, but perhaps the gentle inquiry is the way to start."

If the mages are going to inquire with their guild, Ben decides to spend a little time doing the same with him. At the very least, the guild might be unhappy with such a high profile job without their permission. Or if it was with their permission, he might even learn more...

Having agreed to assist Lord Thyrandas, the party is excused from the Great Hall. The seneschal escorts the adventurers back outside the castle, finishing with a cautionary, "And I do hope it goes without saying, absolute discretion is needed in this, volatile, situation, particularly as it relates to our Lord's role as your patron." Having said this, the seneschal bids the adventurers farewell and leaves instructions to ask for a Mister Whitewood at The Galavant, an upscale tavern located in the Temple District, should they need to pass any messages to the Lord during their quest.

***

The group's first order of business is paying High Priest Lightbringer a visit at the Radiant House, the largest Temple of Pelor in Stormhaven, located in the heart of the Temple District. An attractice edifice offers access to the splendid temple, though not quite of the same caliber of opulence as exhibited at the Golden Hall, the Radiant House does possess its own charm, most notable of which is the magnificent stained glass ceiling looking to the east and west.

Once inside, the party is eventually introduced to The Lightbringer, as he is properly addressed. Garbed in flowing crimson and orange robes, the Lightbringer is a bronzed man with warm, kindly brown eyes, and a serene demeanor that puts all around at ease. Through him, the party learns more of the raid which resulted in the sun disks theft and the abduction of three visiting members of the Order of the Invincible Sun.

The attack was perpetrated by reptilian raiders, most likely troglodytes judging from the priest's description, particularly the overwhelming stench that followed these beasts. There were sorcerers among their numbers, though on this point the priest in uncertain whether these too were troglodytes. The three order members defended the temple as best they were able, but were ultimately overcome and fell to their attackers. The troglodytes captured the sun disks and carried the unconscious order members off into the night, escaping by way of a sewer tunnel located not too far away.

The Lightbringer claims the Order of the Invincible Sun had recently traveled to the city to pay homage and donate a substantial amount of treasure to the temple. These, the spoils from a recent crusade against Pserkipis, an evil naga that had taken up residence in The Cliffs of Abandon, a wild, trackless country located along the wind and surf-swept shores to the east of the city.

After the attack, some acolytes followed the troglodytes' trail into the sewers. Their blood-trail led deep into sewers, eventually growing cold upon reaching a cavern leading to the realms of the Darkness Below. There, they decided to try to enlist the aid of more skilled adventurers, and sought the Lord Mayor's assistance, a long-time friend and benefactor of the Temple.

"I assume," he says with a look of relief, "you have answered the call, and for this, we are grateful. A boon to have such accomplished adventurers as yourself to come to our aid. May the light of Pelor shine upon your future goodly endeavors!"

"Tunnels.  Sewers.  Yay.  Why can't we ever be called upon to travel in the nice outdoors?"