February 24, 118
As they make their way down the stairway, the party are surprised by someone else making his way up the stairway. They encounter a man dressed in lavish and comfortable-looking robes heading up the stairs with a stack of books, and immediately surmise that the man is Zorlac himself. The wizard is middle-aged, with fairly dark skin, black hair, and a close-cropped beard. He is not happy to find intruders in his home.
Demanding that they explain themselves, the party explain to Zorlac the basics of what has happened to Kaplan and why they need his help. Zorlac is unmoved, and doesn't see why he should care or get involved. Switching tactics, they tell him that they have been sent by the church to get his help, and if he doesn't help them, the church will cause a fuss. It will be easier for him to just help them now than to deal with the consequences of not helping. Zorlac considers this argument, then invites the party into the sitting room to discuss the matter at greater length.
The group explain everything they can to Zorlac, including everything they've tried so far. They also show him the copy of the tattoos that Elvish made. Eventually, they are able to persuade him to help, but he has two conditions. First, he never leaves his home, so they will have to bring the two Kaplans to him. Second, once he has determined which of the two Kaplans is real, he wishes to keep the other one in order to study him.
Given that the fake Kaplan is most likely the Archprelate's murderer, the party aren't sure whether they really have the authority to hand him over, so they tell Zorlac that they must consult with the Church of Vorn. They set up a meeting with one of Zorlac's librarians later in the day so they can relay the Church's decision, they head out to talk with Severn.
Once they've arrived at the Prelate's office, they explain the situation to him, and Severn is not particularly pleased by either of Zorlac's conditions. He feels it could be unsafe to transport the Kaplans across the city, and does not wish to give up the fake once he has been identified, as he should instead face justice. Severn decides that, given how important this issue is, he'll go meet Zorlac and negotiate himself.
Severna and the party meet with Zorlac's librarian, who guides them in near-silence back to the tower. He reveals to them a secret entrance that is much lower than the ones they'd previously identified, requiring no climbing to reach. This entrance leads them into another library, and a secret passage hidden behind a bookcase takes them into the same set of stairs where they first ran into Zorlac.
They make their way back to the sitting room, where Zorlac awaits them, and Severn attempts to negotiate more favourable terms. Elvish helps out by trying to support Severn's arguments while distracting Zorlac. In the end, after a long negotiation, Severn manages to wring only one a few small concessions out of Zorlac: he agrees to allow the church to keep the fake Kaplan for a few days before turning him over, and he agrees to accept the fake dead or alive. While not thrilled with these terms, Severn agrees.
Severn and the party return to the Eminent Cathedral, discussing how they will handle transporting Kaplan as they go. They ask Severn about what magical protections they have, but Severn explains that the anti-magic devices they have are not mobile; they are fixed enchantments in particular areas. If the fake Kaplan is a spellcaster, they can prevent him from casting spells by gagging him and binding his hands, but if he is some sort of innately magical creature, this may not be sufficient.
Eventually, the settle on the low-tech solution: in addition to binding and gagging both Kaplans, they knock them both out with blows to the head before transporting them across the city, the idea being to heal them back up once they arrive. This idea works out, as they successfully transport the two men across the city and into Zorlac's home without incident.
Zorlac goes to begin his investigations, but the party have one last request: they want to leave Dark Star with him to keep an eye on things, and so he can notify them when Zorlac is finished. Although the wizard isn't happy with this idea, they convince him to allow Dark Star to stay. Since it's nearing the end of the day, the rest of the party return to the inn to rest for the night.
February 25, 118
In the morning, Grrrr Yip tells the party that, as a Druid, she can no longer stand staying in the city. She also feels that she needs to expand her knowledge of nature in order to be of any real use to them, and to grow as a Druid. She wishes them luck, and leaves to pursue her own mission.
Since they need to wait for Zorlac to finish his investigation, the rest of the party decide to pursue their own investigation of Sahril's son's kidnapping while they wait. They have the list of Therian's best friends that they got from the temple where he worked, so Ash-Daughter heads to the streets to find out if any of the names have underworld connections. Elvish and Calanon head to the Reliquary of Vorn in order to ask Sahril herself about the list. Dark Star is still watching over Zorlac, and Ellyanna decides to leave the investigation to everyone else, while she returns to the College of Celestial Thaumaturgy to continue her studies.
Ash-Daughter spends the entire day exhausting all of her sources, but in the end she is forced to conclude that none of the people on Therian's list have any sort of criminal connection.
For Calanon and Elvish, getting an audience with Sahril turns out to be much more difficult than getting an audience with Severn, probably because she doesn't want to be associated with them. They spend the morning fruitlessly attempting to arrange a meeting. In the afternoon, they change up their strategy and instead focus on getting a meeting with Xanavar, the sub-prelate who they met previously. They are eventually successful, and they pass on the list of names to him. Xanavar agrees to give the list to Sahril and let them know anything that she can tell them.
In the evening, everyone returns to the inn as usual. There, they are met by Dark Star. Zorlac has finished his investigation and he's ready to announce the results.
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