Group 1: Interlude Session: Of Marshmallows and Blades

Party: Fir, Detho, Rachel and Gryven

During the months following the rescue of Louix, the group meets on a semi-regular basis, swapping tales and generally warming to each other as familiar and trustworthy faces within Vertange.
Beyond that, they encounter some of the more prominent locals and take on jobs to maintain a certain level of survivable wealth, now that tales of bandits in the countryside drive up prices within the city proper.

Feeling the need to establish a fixed income, Rachel befriends Amelia, a young elven barmaid in the Jardin (she works in the Verdant Grove - a winery) and spends some time talking about the brewing process.
She thinks up a new concept (magical marshmallow flavouring), but due to the raw magical power she wields to get the tastes in the confection, the results are unpredictable. As this new dubious delicacy comes into the hands of Beiro Benotti, head of the Imperial Duelists, the man sees a commercial avenue in which these mystery mellows can work to great effect. He immediately forms a working understanding where Rachel's invention is marketed by the Benotti and she receives a small cut from the sales to upkeep her.

As she heads to tell her friends of this, during a classic midweek meeting/bender at the "The City of Perlis presents: Drinks" tavern, the group spots a lady being stalked by a band of shadowy figures and Detho decides to intervene.
Unbeknownst to any party involves, the figures had been overheard at the Skull and Crossbones pub down at the wharves by the rogue Gryven. Not one to stand idle while talk of kidnapping is uttered, Gryven followed the ambushers to the plaza where Fir, Detho and Rachel are enjoying the evening.
Detho, kicking hostilities off, rushes towards the suspected miscreants and Rachel launches a molten blob of marshmallow experimentation at the band, triggering Gryven to also strike.
Within moments of the fight kicking off, the group is standing over the bodies of the fallen. They get invited by the lady they saved, Honora Du Calle and spend the evening socializing. At the end of that evening, a new companion is found and onwards Gryven attends the meetings, happy to have found other foreigners in this city that mean well by him.

Detho, a few days later, draws the ire of the master of the L'Equichant kennels, Tangui L'Equichant, as a reaction to a loudly barking mastiff (aka 'punch it on the nose') is seen as an offense. Detho gets away, but feels like the man has had a bad impression of him. Getting back down to the Area Vulgaris, Detho lays low for a while and becomes fast friends with a halfling brawler named Aetius, in spite of the later's tendency to snip a purse or two while trouble goes down. 

Gryven, after a slightly more ... busy ... evening, gets into a spot of bother at a local pottery, where he smashes into a shelf, causing massive financial issues for himself. Luckily enough, Marco De Bouchee is nearby to assist him, in return for a favour at some point in the future. The deep pockets of the De Bouchee family provide and Gryven finds himself free from issues... for now.

Fir, in his pursuit of justice and proper behaviour around town, comes across evidence that the assistant of Trebatius Sumquaes has forged evidence for a trial. Presenting what he knows, he does not only free an innocent from the capital punishment, but also gets the real culprit executed. 
Fir is unsure if he is happy with this, but the glow of Scorchwyn's approval does ease the burden he has shouldered.

Spending some time with Detho to clear his head, Fir strolls the streets of the Jardin and takes in the breath-taking architectural marvels before being set upon by Lucius Tesodi. The expert tailor drags the pair into his store and offers them some of the finer couture available in the city, asking them to model these throughout the city when fancy takes them that way. A little bewildered, Fir manages to make his escape, while Detho seems happy to have a free set of clothes.

Rachel, wandering through the streets, gets challenged by a bunch of bullies, led by Brescia Du Calle. They steal her hat and try to force her into a fistfight. When this is going down, Fir hears the cries of his ally and decides to even the odds. As he arrives on the scene, the pair of heroes band together to create a memorable 'exploding donkey poop attack', which seems sufficient to no longer have to worry about the young Du Calle and they manage to get away, hat in hand.
Afterwards, Fir gets accosted by Appius, a local tour guide, with whom he bonds in his pursuit of making Vertange a little nicer for everyone who comes there. 

When Gryven is heading down to the Area Vulgaris, he meets a goblin named Eudoxius. The little sewer cleaner discovers Gryven does not mean her ill and offers him the comfort of her house (a standing wall and some creative tarp. They agree that she'll shelter him in exchange for food or weapons, whichever are easiest to come by for him. 

Detho, finally, gets round to meeting with Francois Du Treve and questions him about his sister.
Francois relates that, on charges brought by the De La Quinne family, Detho's sister is in the city prison under lock and key.

Group 2 Session 3: Once upon a Bone Lion

 Party: Wenceslas, the Captain, Claudia De La Quinne

As Wenceslas gathers his bearing upon leaving the party, he spends a little time considering where he would be able to find the best source of information about the mysterious stone and happening around town. He settles on the University Library in the Noble District and heads there post-haste.
Offering one of his Faerie Flowers (trademark dubious) as a research specimen for the duration of his stay in the hallowed halls of learning, he quickly crosses the granite floors in search of knowledge.
As the Library contains a labyrinthine inner structure, he promptly spends half an hour trying to get a feel for the place, but winds up seeking aid at the reception counter after that.
The man behind the counter is helpful, if a little slow, and armed with a hand-drawn map of the basement (indicating "Elfhomes", "Myths and Legends" and a skull) Wenceslas quests on.
He gets to the location marked Myths and Legends, where an iron-bound tome titled "Erichtias, the rise and fall of the Cherscoi Aoroi" catches his eye. The book, removed from spell-warded shelves, proves an interesting read until a group of phantoms set upon the researching elf and force him to abandon his study, as a skeletal lion guardian also animates and strikes out at Wenceslas. Thinking discretion the better part of valor, the elf decides to leg it after slamming the book back in its place.

The Captain and Claudia, after taking a dip to wash off the guano they had been faced with, examine the obsidian stone they had claimed from the bats, but apart from a very clean cut, find that it is unremarkable.
They also proceed to the Library, but ere they reach, they are hailed by an elf with obvious battle-scars that proffers them a letter for Wenceslas. Claudia tucks it away and the elf melts back into a shadowy alley. Before long, Claudia and the Captain stand before the Library, where the Captain offers up some of his history with the mercenary group known as 'The Second Sons' and their doings during the Siege of Remis (specifically the Battle of No Leaders) to gain the approval of a distracted bursar that was standing watch for the night.
They meet up with Wenceslas there (who is in a bit of a state) and decided to head to the Archive of Jewels to learn more about their obsidian piece and maybe the flint shard bearing the rune that was absorbed into Emiel.
Their search is in vain, as little of interest turns up so the group lays down to rest.
Ill and warped dreams about her time at the Furnace (of the Order of the Scorched Oath) plague Claudia and Wenceslas rests uneasy as well. As they come to full wakefulness abruptly, the party sees a black wave move through the entire Library before hearing the clatter of skeletal feet and bones disturb the peace of the place.
They face off against a small group of undead that accompany the Guardian Lion and successfully dispatch of them, in spite of the Lion reforming into a skeletal giant while fighting Wenceslas. 
The elf gives an extremely good accounting with his new-found arcane strength, beating down the giant with a grasp of fire that leaves little room for other magics.

The party reasons that the emergence of these creatures and the uneasy knowledge that a Darktide is approaching are linked, and thus try to figure out where the nearest Elfhame may be...