With their newly founded soup kitchen up and running, FCG sought out the Gentleman to plot their next course of action. The notorious crime lord’s eyes lit up at the mention of the hoards of monsters and beasts being kept within Zadash for the upcoming Victory Pit at the festival’s close. Endrin suggested releasing the beasts, and the Gentleman agreed that a bunch of monsters running around the former Julous capital would certainly reflect poorly on the incumbent Starosta. FCG would then of course swoop in to save the day, awarding the credit to Lydia Truscan. Releasing and then dealing with such terrors would prove to be no easy task, so FCG set off once more for the Valley Archive of the Cobalt Soul to glean what information they could on the captive beasts.
Along the way, Triple J spotted the town crier, whom he’d convinced to inform the public about the Miracle Kitchen and Starosta’s third nipple the day prior, being apprehended by a pair of crownsguard. Conan rushed in to try and bail the crier out of trouble, but found himself immediately fingered, along with Triple J, as the original source of the crier’s slanderous announcements. Triple J’s tongue, as silver as his hair, helped them to evade immediate arrest, but was unable to dissuade the guards from investigating the matter further. When asked about their lodging, the group told the guards they were staying near the Pentamarket. The guards took note and headed off with the crier.
After arriving at the Valley Archive, FCG spent the late morning and early afternoon researching the beasts slated to appear at the Victory Pit. Now slightly more equipped to deal with the monsters, FCG headed to the Victory Pit on the north side of the Pentamarket to see if they could get a glimpse of the terrible beasts and scout out the area. Conan and Triple J did a full loop of the coliseum like structure and deduced that monsters must be kept somewhere beneath. Conan tried to enter but was turned away by one of the posted sentries. While FCG could not find any beasts, they did however spot the guards from earlier combing the area. Seeking to avoid further conflict with the local authorities, FCG ducked down and ally and disguised themselves as best they could before slinking back to their soup kitchen.
The group spent the rest of the afternoon plotting, scheming, planning, and then plotting some more on how to best execute their beast release. Sometime in the early evening, one of the posted thugs outside informed them that a few members of the crownsguard were there to see them. The guards entered and informed FCG that they were under arrest for the slander of the Starosta. The guards instructed the group to lay down their weapons and come peacefully. Conan refused, twice. It was at this point the guards lost their patience with FCG’s resistance and decided to take them by force. FCG proved more than a match for the four guards however. Conan pleaded for them to stop while Endrin crushed two of them into blood-soaked spheres of flesh and bone. With a sigh, Soren slit one’s throat while the two thugs bound and pummeled the fourth. Well accustomed to the “cleaning” aspect of their job description, the two thugs began disposing of the corpses.
FCG sought sanctuary with the Gentleman and headed back for the Evening Nip. The Gentleman advised them to keep a low profile as missing guards tend to arose further suspicion. He also agreed to post another thug at the soup kitchen in case further complications arose. All but Conan left to fetch a table and some drinks, for the warrior had personal matter to discuss with the Gentleman. Conan wished to kill the Starosta himself. A smile grew across the Gentleman’s face and he agreed to track down Wyatt for him once the halfling was no longer in power.
FCG spent the rest of the night drinking and planning as they do best. Conan disclosed a bit of his militaristic past and marveled at the destruction Endrin was able to conjure up earlier. The two chatted in earnest for a while, finally taking the time to delve further into their budding friendship. Soren and Triple J headed off to bed, Endrin spent some time with his books, and Conan picked a rematch with the ogre, Kutha. With another day past, only six remained until the New Dawn Festival.
