Twitch sighed as she closed her eyes, the deck of the rechristened Seven Sins rocking gently beneath her, and began her morning communion with The Traveler. The plan to escape Stormreach with Lady Alna was a dangerous one, Twitch began. But with Your guidance, we proved victorious once more. Our team divided into two groups: Sh'Nezz'Tar and Legion, with Lukar in bat form, took a disguised Lady Alna in one direction, while Yipping, Envy, and I--magically disguised as Lady Alna--went another. The duergar Soulblades who were pursuing Lady Alna were closing in with ogres as backup, and--surprise!--a manticore as air support. This would be even more dangerous than we feared. Both teams played their part. Sh'Nezz'Tar and Legion stealthily shielded Lady Alna from the ogres with Lukar-as-bat serving as reconnaissance. Meanwhile, Yipping and I got the duergars' attention while the running the other way. That worked too well--the duergar called down their manticore to fire tail spikes at Yipping and Envy, leaving trails of tiefling and kobold blood in our wake. But if our forces were divided, at least so too were the duergars'. Sh'Nezz'Tar and Legion saw their chance with the circling ogres and moved to leave. One of the ogres accosted them; but while Sh'Nezz'Tar tried to smooth-talk their way out of danger, Lukar used his shapeshifting and disguise abilities to maximum effect. Calling upon the unholy powers that had banished him from Death itself, Lukar made himself appear as Lady Alna before magically sprinting away and returning to bat form to elude his pursuers. The distraction worked; the ogres turned their attention to Lukar while Legion and Sh'Nezz'Tar made good their escape with the real Lady Alna. Meanwhile, on the walls of Respite, the manticore was closing in on a seriously wounded Yipping, a bloodied Envy, and a worried me, Twitch recalled. I dropped the Lady Alna disguise and pleaded for mercy. Despite Envy's best attempts at persuasion and intimidation--which earned her a manticore tail spike in response--the duergar demanded our surrender and forced us to accompany them back to their headquarters. Figuring that the time the duergar wasted with our group was more time for the others to escape the city, we complied. Only when we reached the exterior of the duergars' heavily fortified headquarters did I offer a generous bribe for the duergar to let us go. No doubt Yipping's suggestion that we were on a date--with my Big Dragon Kissy-Poo and his Fuzzy Snuggle-Bunny--helped turn the duergars' stomachs sufficiently to agree. Twitch's eyes opened long enough to gaze out at the sunrise over the waters of the pirate cove. Your blessings and guidance brought us out alive and back to the safety of our pirate compatriots, Twitch thought. After discussing with Lady Alna the dangers of the sahuagin raids, we negotiated with her to arrange alternative transport for her out of Xen'drik and to Sharn via a privately chartered Lyrandar airship. That required us to obtain funds from Lady Alna's private account with House Kundarak. Envy and I--once again disguised as Lady Alna--made our way into the Kundarak enclave, made the withdrawal from Lady Alna's immense reserves, and (despite the temptation) took no more than what we had agreed. Then the group crossed to the Lyrandar shipyard. I saw that witch, Tyrese Lyrandar--may Your judgment soon fall upon her!--and beat a hasty but bitter retreat while Envy negotiated the charter. We had accomplished our mission and made some additional gold besides; not a bad haul all considered. The call of sea birds briefly interrupted Twitch's reverie. Half a ten-day has now passed. I feel myself growing stronger in Your powers, and I sense the others grow more capable in theirs as well. I searched for and You revealed this amulet-- Twitch fingered the Amulet of the Devout around her neck-- while also searching for more information about the sahuagin and Redtusk among the hands along the docks. Generous amounts of gold and ale loosened enough tongues to earn a name--Alice Cost--and a location--below the Old City of Stormreach. My companions' research seems to point in the same direction. With Your blessings, our path is clear: locate Alice Cost and learn more about the secrets that spur both natural and unnatural threats to this city.
