In the last Episode - the last Episode of 2020! - we left the Adventurers in Ealinor having returned from their journey to Ensburn. On returning to Ealinor Jett received some information regarding the Mayor of the town being possibly involved in a secret religious Cult which set Jett on an investigation to confirm if the information was true and to ascertain what involvment he had and to find out more about the Cult. Ep22 - The Adventurers woke to sunny, clear day finding that, when they went down to the common area, there was a different behaviour to the Innkeeper and those eating, a happier, jovial demeanor. On asking Patrick about it they were told that the Spring Fair was taking place the weekend coming and everyone was getting prepared and excited for the time of entertainment and fun. After a discussion about what to do for the day, they decide to split up and cover as many of their tasks as possible. Jett leads Catsi, Bardryn, and Calico to The Heights district to speak with the Mayor, while Tados heads to the library to try find more information about the Cult, while Lyllianes heads out of town to collect honey and berries for Charlemains, her polar bear companion. Leading his group up to the wealthier district, Jett gains entry through the security checkpoint by name dropping Lady Himlaid's name whose brooch he had found and returned. Once beyond the gates, the small group heads to the Himlaid residence where they are welcomed. Lady Himlaid is immediately intrigued by Catsi who curtsies and introduces herself as "Princess Krrrina" (her official tribal position and name). Jett asks Himlaid about the Mayor and is told that she is good friends with him and she knows him to be a respectable person. He asks if she knows about the Cult and if the Mayor may be involved to which she replies that she knows nothing of the Cult and does not believe the Mayor to be involved with it. Thanking Lady Himlaid, the group leaves and makes their way to Mayor Jaxon Huntley's residence. After gaining entry, the group is escorted through the yard by the guards to the Mayor's door which is answered by Zane, the Mayor's Advisor, who ushers them to a seating area before leaving them to wait on the Mayor. A few minutes later the Mayor exits a door and makes his way toward them. He is about 40yrs old, 5ft8, has a very straight posture with squared shoulders, and is dressed in a pin-striped grey suit of fine cloth. He displays an aura of confidence and is clear spoken. Introducing himself, he extends a welcome to the group who introduce themselves in kind before they get down to business. Jett asks Jaxon if he knows anything about the Cult which Jaxon denies. Intently studying the Mayor's face (INS roll of 20) Jett sees signs that Jaxon is not telling the truth. As the Rogue tries to subtley dig deeper for information, he tells the Mayor some of the information they know to try and get Jaxon to open up more; however, the Mayor is playing cool and not willingly giving any sign or indication of his knowledge or involvement in the Cult. Having asked the Mayor the questions they had, the Mayor leads them back to the front door. As he does so Jett sees the Mayor quickly glance at the door he exited from before returning his attention to the party. Once back outside Jett immediately created an illusion of himself before sneaking off to hide before the soldiers returned to escort them out of the property. Watching from his hiding place, Jett makes the illusion walk with the group through the property; however, once the wooden gate shuts and he can no longer see the illusion, it fades before the sight of the guards leavng Calico, Catsi and Bardryn to face the Lead Guard's ire at being duped. Immediately, taking the three into temporary custody, the Lead Guard returns to the property to search for Jett. As he searches his way through the hedges and trees lining the fence, Jett manages to evade being caught and hides closer to the Mayor's house. Once safe from the Guard's sight, the Elf Rogue finds his way to a window that looks into a study room. Through the window, he sees a large desk with a number of scrolls on it, a table in the far corner with a few small bottles of liquid in them and a small bookshelf under the window. Using Mage Hand, he opens the window and creeps inside where he begins to search the desk for any sign of the Cult. Looking through the scrolls, books, and letters he sees that they are all centered on his Mayoral duties. As he looks around he sees a hanging painting on a small section of the wall, previously hidden from his view outside the window. The painting is of two robed figures holding pole weapons, both figures' faces being rams skulls, standing before a backdrop of dark mountains with one mountain peak just left of center in the painting that has a stone skull carved into it. Between the two figures stands a dark tower, and in the sky above the tower is a large demon head with curved horns. A plaque at the bottom of the painting reads Vul'Torien H'Ul. As Jett looks closer at the panting he sees a darker shade one of the tower's black windows and, touching it, notices that it is a key hole. Going back to the desk he finds a ring of four keys and tries each one until he hears a clicking sound. To the right of the painting, a portion of the wall recesses and slides back revealing a descending staircase. Leaving the key in the hole, Jett makes his way down the stairs which lead around the back of the house before turning to go under it. At the end of the stairs he enters an octagonal room which immediately is lit by torches that sprak to life at his presence. He first sees a large statue at the far end of the room and as he looks around sees a torture bed to his right with a deceased male still on it and blood on the floor, while on his left he sees a table with some more small bottles of liquids, a table with torture tools on it, and between that table and the statue a large chest sitting on the floor. He walks up to inspect the statue, seeing that it is of an old crone woman in thick robes, the hood of which is drawn over the head concealing the right half of her face. The left half shows an old, wrinkled woman. In her hands she holds a flaming brand, her right arm across her chest as she holds the brand elevated to her left shoulder height. A table sits at the feet of the statue supporting two small four-prong candelabras on either side of an open book. Looking at the book he flips through the pages reading it to be some sort of prayer and praise collection written in differing handwriting styles. Turning to the torture bed, he walks over to it. The body on the bed does not appear to be someone of importance as he is wearing common clothing; however, it is clear that the male has been tortured as the body has deep lacerations al lover it, fingers are missing, and teeth have been pulled. The blood looks semi-congealed telling Jett that the torture happened recently. Skipping over the tables of bottles and torture implements, he turns his attention to the large chest believing that anything of importance would be found within. Taking out his thieve's tools he checks the chest for traps and, finding none, attempts to open the chest without success. Deciding to try something more forceful, he takes out the crowbar he carries and tries to force the lock, again without success. Not wanting to give up and wanting to get as much information as he could, Jett tries one more time with his thieve's tools and successfully manages to open the chest where he finds four sealed scolls, two gold rings, 1000 gold peices, and a wooden mask the same as the demons head in the painting. The mask covers the top portion of the face from the nose up with the eye and nostril slots painted red and a leather strap slips over the head securing the mask. Stuffing the items and money into a bag, he shuts the chest and locks it before making his way back up the stairs to the study. Taking the key out of the painting and watching the wll return to its place, he makes his way back to the desk and gets there just as he hears footsteps at the other side of the door and the knob being turned. Thinking quickly, he ducks under the desk pulling the chair close to conceal himself; however, notices too late that he has left the window open. Jaxon enters the study and immediately notices the open window. Looking around the room (low PERC roll) he does not see anything amiss and shuts the window before taking the ring of keys and going to the painting to open the hidden door to the underground room. As he descends, Jett allows time for the Mayor to get to the room, then quickly ducks from his hiding spot, goes to the painting and removes the key. As the hidden door slowly returns to its place shutting the Mayor into the room below with no means of escape, Jett exits through the study window, shuts it behind him this time and leaves the property by climbing a tree next to the boundary wall and jumping over. While Jett is stealing his way through the Mayor's house, Bardyn and Calico head to the town's large Cathedral to see if they can find any information about the Cult there. Catsi decides to head to the Military Encampment instead to look for Bartelot. Making thier way through town to the Cathedral, Bardryn and Calico speak with a Priest of the Grave Domain and ask if he knows of any Cult with the Lightning Bolt and Rose iconography. The Priest replies that he does not, but there is a large library below filled with literature on religious domains and organisations throughout the Empire's history where they may have a look. However, to do so they would need to come back later in the day as they will need to be escorted by a Scholar and none were available. Heading to the Military Encampment, Catsi finds Bartelot in his office where they have a discussion about Jasper. Bartelot thanks Catsi for having a talk with the young soldier, telling her that they had a talk earlier that morning and that Bart offered to be a mentor to Jasper and help him become a better soldier. Leaving Bartelot to finish his work, Catsi makes her way back outside and asks around for Jasper, being told that the young man is practicing his archery. She finds him part way through pulling back the bowstring and guaging his aim, interrupting his thoughts as he does so, causing the arrow to shoot off-mark. They have a discussion about Jasper's new relationship with Bartelot and the episode ends with Catsi offering some more of her own advice before making a further offer to give some free training to Jasper which he readily accepts.