Thugs, Thieves, and the Veiled Hand

Session Summary: 06/11/2023

Ahhhh, the criminal underworld makes its displeasure KNOWN! Kiren's quiet inquiries into the Night Hexen and the black sand trade had not gone unnoticed. On the streets of Lepidstadt, three thugs employed by the Veiled Hand stepped out of an alley and made their intentions clear with the universal diplomatic language of weapons pointed at people. They had been sent by One-Eyed Iohn, the Veiled Hand's local enforcer, with instructions to teach the pale fetchling rogue not to pry into business that was not hers, and secondarily to determine whether she was an agent of the Night Hexen attempting to muscle in on their territory.

The fight was brief and went poorly for the thugs. Two of them, Bogdan and Emil, died in the exchange. The third, Phillipe, found himself on his knees with Charles standing over him and the specific promise that if he surrendered and answered questions honestly, he would leave the encounter alive. Phillipe assessed his situation with admirable speed and agreed. He confirmed One-Eyed Iohn's orders, identified himself as a low-level Veiled Hand operative, and provided the location of their current market. Charles released him. Charles is deeply and INCONVENIENTLY principled about keeping his word.

The party ventured into the Nebelmarkt, the Fog Market, that permanently shadowed district of Lepidstadt where commerce of the unofficial variety conducted itself without interference from city authorities who had been convinced not to look too closely. There they found Klaus of Klaus's Spiced Almonds and Sweet Nuts, an independent operator who served as a middleman between the Veiled Hand and certain clients with particular tastes. They strong-armed Klaus into carrying a message to the Veiled Hand with considerable efficiency: step back from whatever involvement they had with Morpheus' Tears and the toys, or the heroes would make their operations visible to people who would find them very INTERESTING.

Klaus agreed, with the enthusiastic cooperation of a man who had just been made to understand that the alternative was worse. A warning had been delivered. Whether the Veiled Hand would take it or escalate was a question for another session. The heroes returned to the Golden Stag to wash the Fog Market off their boots and plan their approach to the Bone House!