Not like that. Although we did wind up at a brothel first thing. (Seems to be happening a lot in the RPGs I'm in lately.)
So, here we are back in Duskwall, with our lovable scamps, the Snakeskins! Having gotten a lead on a job, Two-Tooth and Kesket head to the district of Silkshore, to the Red Light (a classy establishment, thank you) to talk to Madame Tesslyn.
Turns out that Tesslyn has an interesting job for them. Recently, another minor gang called the Wraiths came into the Red Light and started making trouble. And someone called "Pumpkin" stole a book of maps that several parties are interested in getting back - Leviathan Hunters, for one. Now, Tesslyn doesn't care about the book per se; the Snakeskins are free to sell it to whomever they wish. What she really wants is for the Wraiths to be taught a lesson.Two-Tooth and Kesket agree that this is a job they can do, and they decide since they're in Silkshore anyway they'll swing by the tower that the Wraiths have been hanging out in lately and do a little casing.
The tower is about eight stories. Kesket sends her magic snake Aksha in and notes some strange, arcane writings on the wall on the first floor before she gets bored and eats a rat. They head back to the HQ, where Hollow and Moon have been waiting (Moon has been building a snake-tree for Aksha to lounge on). Kesket sketches out the sigils for Moon, her being the crew's resident Whisper.
Moon says that the sigils appear to be a kind of low-grade demon-summoning spell. The crew kicks around ideas for what that might mean - a trap that summons a demon? Practice? Aftermath of a successful summoning? But Moon guesses that it's pretty benign, at least so far. Moon and Hollow decide to go have a look, while Two-Tooth drops in on his friend Nyryx (Pumpkin was apparently trying to find work at Red Light, so if she's plied the trade on the streets before, Nyryx might have met her).
In Silkshore, Moon tunes into the ghost field, and discovers a lot of spirits hanging around the building. There's a spirit well on the sixth floor, and her guess is that the Wraiths are trying to use it as a power source. She doesn't detect any demonic activity, so maybe they're just taking their first steps into demon summoning, but there's definitely some pissed-off ghosts around.
Meanwhile, Two-Tooth learns that Pumpkin isn't officially a Wraith, she's the paramour of one of the Wraiths, a man called Jack who wears a mask like a carved gourd (Me: "Does Halloween exist in this world?" The GM: "Any world I run in a game in would have Halloween."). She's been trying to hustle, trying to find her own angle, and stealing this book might well have been her ticket. Except the Snakeskins are gonna screw that up for her, but that's life.
The crew reconvenes and discusses their options. Two-Tooth suggests setting explosives beneath the spirit well and dropping it down a floor, perhaps damaging or destroying it, but definitely alerting anyone in the area (like, say, the Spirit Wardens) as to what's going on. Kesket further suggests destroying staircases and ladders leading to the upper floors, trapping the Wraiths in their own building - no maiming or murder necessary, but it'll definitely be a strong message. The Snakeskins gear up and get ready to go to work.
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