February 20, 118
Prelate Severn's offices are located within the Eminent Cathedral, the other half of the building that contains the Palace, so that is where the party head. They leave Kaplan behind, as they feel it would be too dangerous to bring him so close to the Palace. Ash-Daughter also stays behind, so that Kaplan is not alone, but also because she is a criminal and it might be dangerous for her to visit near the Palace as well.
The Cathedral is just as maze-like as the Palace, but fortunately the offices of the Inquisition of Vorn are within a well-travelled section of the building, so the party have no difficulty in reaching their destination, which turns out to be about halfway up the spire.
When they arrive at the Inquisition, they see the front gate, a massive iron double door that is decorated with the symbol of a watchful eye, the sign of the Inquisition. Two heavily armed and armored guards demand that they relinquish all weapons and magical implements before entering, and inform them that any acts of aggression or spellcasting while within the offices of the Inquisition are punishable by death. The party surrender all their weapons and magic items.
Inside, a doorman leads the group to Severn's office and they step inside, where the Prelate is waiting for them. Severn is a stern-looking man, about 40 years of age. His head is shaved and he is wearing fine and elaborate robes as befits his station. He welcomes the party and informs them that the entire room is under a powerful truth spell - he will know if they speak any falsehoods.
They begin by discussing the subject of Kaplan. Severn informs them that he has already sent his own agents to investigate their story, and confirmed that they were nowhere near the city when the murder of the Archprelate occurred. They repeat their story while under the effects of the truth spell, which further confirms that they're telling the truth. So, Severn does believe that Kaplan is innocent, but unfortunately he cannot help them clear his name. Generally, as the Inquisitor, his role is to inform the Archprelate of crimes and let him take action. With the Archprelate's position vacant he has no power over the other Prelates.
They discuss the mysterious "Guild of the Twinborn", which Severn doesn't know anything about. However, when they tell him everything they know about the Guild, he becomes concerned, particularly about the fact that they claim to be from beyond the mountains to the south. He believes that they could be the actual killers behind the Archprelate's death, working on behalf of the Second Empire, trying to destabilize Vornheim before their next invasion. He agrees to dedicate some of his resources to investigating the Guild.
The party also ask him what he knows about the actual murderer of the Archprelate. He isn't able to tell them very much. He confirms what Ellyanna learned earlier - that he fled directly from the city and hasn't been seen since. They have tried powerful divinations to locate him, to no avail, so he must be protected somehow. They have no real leads on where he might be.
During the conversation, they try to get Severn to explain why he has yet to support any of the other Prelates in the election. While he is reticent to talk about this, eventually they convince him to open up. He tells them that he does not want to support either of the candidates, Gorith or Thaalia, who have put themselves forward. As the Inquisitor, his job is to monitor them and their underlings for wrongdoing, and he is convinced that both of them are corrupt and act only in self-interest. He feel the same way about Eljarn, and would not support him if he did step forward as a candidate. He refuses to step forward himself, for several reasons. First, as the youngest prelate he does not feel he has enough experience. Second, as the Inquisitor, he is generally disliked by the other Prelates, since his entire job is to spy on them and report their misdeeds. He is certain that Gorith, Thaalia, and Eljarn would never support him, and so he would have almost no chance of winning.
The last thing they discuss is what to do with Kaplan. Severn is convinced of his innocence, but he is still in danger from Gorith, and possibly other factions as well. Severn agrees to protect him, and says he will send his men to collect Kaplan and bring him to a safe place as soon as he can.
Their meeting concludes, so the party bid farewell to Severn and return to their inn rooms (or, in the case of Calanon, Aralakk's temple) and rest for the night.
February 21, 118
The next morning, the party once again split up to accomplish separate tasks. They need to wait for their meeting with Sahril, so they might as well try to get things done while they wait. Specifically, Ellyanna, Elvish, and Ash-Daughter head out into the city, while the rest of the party lay low in their respective locations.
Ellyanna returns to the College of Celestial Thaumaturgy, where news of her previous visit has spread. She learns that there is a scholar within the College who is interested in meeting her and sponsoring her admittance. She is allowed into the college, where she meets Theogrim, a Dwarven scholar who studies the constellations. He is interested in comparing the positions of the stars as seen from Vornheim to their positions in Ember, and quizzes Ellyanna about this information.
Ellyanna, however, is an Evocation specialist, and is not able to answer Theogrim's questions satisfactorily. Theogrim is disappointed, until Ellyanna shows him a magical scroll that she possesses, which allows her to write back and forth with her master back in Ember. Ellyanna's master is much better able to answer Theogrim's questions, so he works out a deal with Ellyanna - for as long as he can borrow the scroll to converse with her master, she can use the College's libraries to perform her own research. Ellyanna ends up spending the rest of the day studying in the library, trying to learn more about the undead they faced at Frosthaven - specifically, who could have been responsible for their creation 1000 years ago and why.
Elvish returns to the Eminent Cathedral in order to ask around about Sahril and see what the priests think about her. He spends the morning doing this, and he learns that she is generally respected and considered to be good at her job, but since her job does not include being in the public eye very much, most people don't know much about her. The biggest topic of conversation is why she hasn't publicly supported either of the candidates.
Ash-Daughter spends her day as before, asking around with her contacts to try to learn more about the Guild of the Twinborn. Unfortunately, as before she is unable to learn anything of value.
While Ellyanna, Elvish, and Ash-Daughter are out and about, a contingent of Severn's soldiers arrive and deliver a message for Kaplan, to meet them in a nearby warehouse. Kaplan goes to meet them, taking Grrrr Yip and Dark Star with him in case this is actually a trap of some sort. When they arrive, the soldiers provide Kaplan with a suit of armor and uniform, which completely covers his face and hides his identity. He gets changed into the armor, and the whole group heads back for the Cathedral. Once they leave, Grrrr Yip shapeshifts into a cat and follows in order to keep an eye on Kaplan. The group march through the city and into the Cathedral, dropping Kaplan off at the Inquisition's headquarters for safekeeping.
At midday, everyone (except Kaplan) returns briefly to the Greasy Thatcher to check in. There, Calanon informs them that Aralakk has secured them an audience with one of Sahril's sub-prelates, a half-elf by the name of Xanavar. The meeting will be in the evening. Elvish decides to spend his afternoon learning about Xanavar.
Ellyanna returns to the library at the College, Ash-Daughter heads for her contacts on the streets, and everyone else lays low, while Elvish heads for the Reliquary of Vorn, where Sahril's branch of the priesthood is headquartered. There, he asks around about Xanavar. He learns that the sub-prelate is generally considered to be aloof and arrogant, but a gifted scholar and researcher, who generally focuses on the lives of saints who lived about 400-600 years ago.
When evening arrives, the party regroup and head out; this time, it's the whole party minus Kaplan. They arrive at the reliquary and are guided to a small office, where they meet Xanavar. Xanavar, however, tells them to wait before beginning, as one more person will be attending the meeting.
A few minutes later, a cloaked and hooded figure arrives in the room. Removing the hood, it's revealed to be Sahril herself, who orders Xanavar out the of the room. She explains to the party that she wanted to meet them but could not be seen doing so, so she arranged this slight ruse. She tells them she has a request for them, which she'll get to after she answers their questions.
The party ask Sahril most the same questions that they asked Severn, and in most cases she is not able to provide any more information. She doesn't know where the real murderer is, but she trusts Severn's belief that it's not Kaplan. She doesn't know anything about the Guild of the Twinborn, nor does she know anything about the undead from Frosthaven. However, she does have access to a legion of scholars and one of the best libraries in the city, so she promises that she'll dedicate some of them to investigating this threat, trying to determine how large it is and how it compares to the threat of the Second Empire to the south.
Dark Star decides to ask her about Xargon, hoping she can give him some information about the entity. Not wanting to reveal his own powers to her, he tells Sahril that he learned about Xargon from a traveller (Vaelac, but no provides her no details about him). Sahril is greatly concerned by what Dark Star tells her. She explains that Xargon belongs to a pantheon of deities, called the Outer Gods, who existed long before the universe was created. Both the Outer Gods and the current Gods had their own, mutually exclusive, ideas of how the universe should work. They battled to determine who would get to create the universe, and the Outer Gods were defeated and cast out of reality. If they were ever to return, it would be disastrous for all, as they would seek to unmake reality itself so that it could be recreated according to their own wishes.
Dark Star tries to change the subject, but Sahril is so concerned with the possibility of the Outer Gods returning that she feels it takes precedence over of the other concerns they've raised. While Dark Star doesn't want to give any information any, eventually Sahril persuades him to reveal Vaelac's name and name of the inn where he's staying.
Throughout the entire conversation, Sahril has been avoiding any questions related to the election of the Archprelate. Finally, she explains to them why she has been staying out of the election: Gorith, worried that Sahril might vote for Thaalia and cost him the election, has kidnapped Sahril's son, Therian, and is holding him hostage, in return for Sahril's non-involvement in the election process. He has threatened to kill him if she involves herself at all, or if she tries to rescue him. She's too afraid about what might happen to her son to do anything at all.
However, the party's visit has given her the chance she's been waiting for. She didn't contact them; they contacted her, and as far as anyone else knows, they met with Xanavar, not her. The party are already Gorith's enemies, so if they're seen snooping around investigating his activities, it will seem perfectly normal. In short, the party are the perfect group to investigate Therian's kidnapping without arousing Gorith's suspicions. In return for their aid, Sahril promises the party her full cooperation and a great reward.
The party agree to help Sahril, but she is unable to give them any information. Due to Gorith's threats, she's been too afraid to investigate the situation at all, so she has no idea where her son might be or how Gorith might be guarding him. They'll have to investigate starting from zero.
The party leave, but Dark Star splits from the rest of the group, racing through the city to reach Vaelac before Sahril's agents can reach him. His urchin upbringing serves him well, and he makes fast progress through the city, quickly arriving at the Evening Shade Inn. Meeting with Vaelac, he explains to him the situation - he is not safe, because Sahril's agents are most likely coming for him. Vaelac is obviously upset about this turn of events, but begrudgingly thanks Dark Star for the warning. After briefly pondering what to do, he decides that he will depart for the nearest city and continue his researches there instead.
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