A few of the group have been here already, but for the others, it is a bold new direction.

The street seems typical of most cities--cobblestone, winding, rises and dips. It's not that wide, but it is certainly not an alley. The houses on either side are mostly built against each other, with only the occasional alley or walkway to the back of the houses.

The houses all seem to be built at a slightly different angle, so the facade is highly irregular. There are parapets and balconies and wrought iron railings. There are stained glass windows, large fancy doors, and a kaleidoscope of colors and decorations, even a few arcane symbols.

Ember's house has one of the fancier doors.

Upon entering, there is a foyer, with a curtained alcove off on the right. Ahead, you can see a set of circular iron stairs that go upward. Ember leads you to and up the stairs.

At the top of the spiral stairs, there is a hallway with five closed doors and one open door at the end. Ember Heads down to the open door where a study or den is visible beyond. You enter on one side near one end. The walls are lined with bookshelves full of books and bric-a-brac, and there is a desk in front of a large arched window at the other end.

Ember heads over to the desk and sits behind it. There are seven chairs set in front of the desk.

"Please, be seated," he says, gesturing to the chairs.

While everyone is being seated, he opens a desk drawer and pulls out a strange device and sets it on the desk. It is a tall pyramid shaped wooden box with some sort of wire sticking up out of the front. He pushes the wire to one side and then lets go. Seemingly of it's own accord, the wire begins to bounce from one side to the other.

"Merely a precaution," he explains. "It alerts me if someone tries to scrye into this room, even though I have other protections up."

"Now, let's start out with any questions you might have."

Rodrigo follows along in wonderful spirits, the day having turned out more exciting than he'd ever imagined! He paid close attention to where they had come, and glanced eagerly around wandering what the mage had in store for them.

Seating himself comfortably, he looked his companions over to see if they had questions. As for himself, Magister Rain's offer couldn't come soon enough.

Kareth shares some of the Hobgoblin's frustration, as he enter's Magister Rain's house for the second time.    If the fellow knew all along where the thief was and is pally with the City Guard into the bargain, how come he needed a bunch of outsiders to tramp around the streets?

Nevertheless he keeps this thoughts to himself and takes one of the seats.   While he waits to Rain to pitch whatever he he is going to pitch, he studies the others in the group with an affected casualness, trying to work out what makes them tick.

Following the others into the residence.  Durek finds a seat near Talis and waits to hear what Rain has to say.

Talis strides in and makes himself as comfortable as he can considering his bulky plate armor and ancient battle blade "Well perhaps you can start by explaining who Kolenko is and why he would want to frame you for the theft of Lady Houghton's necklace."

"Perhaps you could explain who Lady Houghton is too."

Talis gestures towards his newest companions "All this leads to a response of some kind on your part, I imagine.  One that requires the cooperation of several bold adventurers."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Sat 10 May 2014.

Ember looks at Talis with a hithertofore unseen intensity, and then seems to blush a bit.

"Yes, good points. Well, that certainly clears up a few things. I knew I could count on you to find the truth of the matter, but I shall refrain from asking  how you came by this information."

"In truth, Lady Houghton is someone I have been courting. She is the youngest daughter of House Briganti in Boldavia, and, I might add, the last unwed daughter."

"Kolenko is the son of Count Efram the Ginger of Caurenze. He, too, has been courting her. It is no secret that Caurenze continues to struggle financially. An economic alliance with Boldavia could rescue Caurenze, there is no doubt of that."

"It is hard to see what Boldavia would get out of the merger, as it were, though I suppose a trade route between the two would have many repercussions throughout the country."

"Although framing me for the theft would never have succeeded legally, the mere rumor of it would have turned her eyes elsewhere."

"The necklace is still a mystery to me. I've spent a considerable amount of time and effort researching it. I have never seen it in Lady Houghton's possession, but that does not mean it is not hers. Even its magic is unusual, and may not have been original to the necklace."

"It is an elaborate scheme to discredit me, but its very roundabout nature assures that it doesn't go back to Kolenko."

"Does that answer your questions sufficiently?"

"Are there any others?"

Rukao wasn't typically invited to such upscale houses. Well, perhaps occasionally he would be posted outside the door or in the foyer, somewhere in plain sight where he could just growl at anyone who seemed to be paying special attention to the house or its occupants. But upstairs? Well-- this was a first.

He was far from comfortable in the situation and elected to remain standing even when offered the chair. He paced in one spot slowly and somewhat casually behind those who were sitting, not hiding his general discomfort and nervousness very well.

All the talk about courting and political intrigue, one noble framing another for a crime in order to secure... the girl? Or was it trade routes? It was all a bit hard to follow. Perhaps in this world there were Hobgoblins who engaged in such things-- but it wasn't his caste, that was for sure.

"So, I'm guessing you want us to get rid of this Kolenko guy. Discretely? Or would you rather he be made an example of?"

It hardly seemed as though wanton assault and murder was allowed here. Hell, he'd just helped arrest someone for murder, so clearly it was against the local law. But maybe the punishments here were very light and that's why his targets hardly fought back?

"Hahahaha," Ember laughs at Rukao's suggestion. "We don't engage in that sort of activity, though I appreciate the willingness? Offer? ...to pursue it."

"No, my need for adventurers involves solving a mystery."

"I don't expect you to find out the full truth of the matter, simply because it may be greater than any of us can fathom."

"Some of you may have heard of The Radiance. The exact nature of it is unclear, but it is believed by some that it is the source of all magic in the world. This Radiance lies beneath Glantri City, and is presumably the reason why everyone in Glantri has magical abilities of some sort."

"You may also have heard of the Week Without Magic. During that time, something happened to the Radiance. It... stopped functioning properly. It seems to have gotten corrupted somehow."

"A few of us have been researching this... phenomenon. Recently, we uncovered some ancient secrets. We don't know how true or accurate they are, but they mention something called the Seventh Magic. There are indications that this may be a way to fix the Radiance."

"What I would like you all to do is locate and retrieve this Seventh Magic."

Rodrigo sits back, stunned into speechlessness. Finally he realizes that his mouth is open, and he shuts it. He lifts a hand, looks as though he is about to speak – then halts. He frowns, and stands abruptly.

“Magister, the Seventh Magic? You wish us to retrieve this? For you?” He realizes that he has been pacing, and stops himself with his hands firmly gripping a chair back. “And what do you propose to do with such a thing, should we succeed?”