It’s spring in the city. The weather is ideal for northerners, though those from the hot plains of Malegyon find it rather cool.
Each of the party members – the Leomachus Thiago, the Ulronai Moria Vanblade (and her elderly uncle Arthur), Gi-Di, a shabby Thon-Sa monk, the lean, masked Violet and an orc named Sorga – responds to a flyer advertising well-paid work finding a missing person for discrete adventurers.
At the appointed time, a lawyer named Orenzo interviews them at The Patient Manticore, on the edge of the Grand Market. He explains that he works for a client who wishes to remain strictly anonymous, but who has recently had a very valuable creature stolen – and Ayzari, a small, non-sentient fairy-like creature which raidates gold light and has magical properties. His client has heard the stolen Ayzari will be auctioned to a select clientele by the thieves. He wishes to hire the party to steal it back.
Sorga lets slip he knows the client is a nobleman – a count. The lawyer immediately halts the discussion, thanks the party for their time, and leaves.
While the party discuss their options, Sorga leaves, and a Pakasa named Admetus joins the party’s table. He and Thiago share a common language – a great boon to Thiago, who hardly speaks Westerlandish.
The party, now incuding Admetus, decide that, as the Ayzari is valuable, they will attempt to find it anyway. They decide to start their search by finding a thieves’ guild member.
Conversations with the innkeeper and a lame guardsman indicate that one of the barmaids, Eldoria, may know something of the local thieves, but the questioning irritates the innkeeper, Aldret, who asks the party to leave.
While most of the party search for somewhere to stay (they find a hospitable inn, the Cow and Calf, in the Foreigners’ District), Moria and Admetus wait until Eldoria’s shift is over and follow her.
They trail her through the market district into a sidestreet with a pair of thugs lolling about the junction. Eldoria disappears into a house, but it seems she must have spotted her tails and three men in leather armour and bearing shortwords come to remonstrate with Moria and Admetus.
They fight, and the thugs are roundly defeated.