Interlude: Scandal and Fire

Later that same night, Primeiro became concerned. His companions did not return from their midnight investigations. Nor did they show up by the morning. He checked at the Seatower of Balduran, and even made his way over to Wyrm’s Rock and back again. Nothing. Nor were any of them at their other haunts, like the boarding house near the docks where Zelder and Vaicht had stayed. Of course, the Helm and Cloak in the Upper City still no vacancy, so they weren’t there, either. And where had Tredek gone? He hadn’t gone to the secret meeting.

By noon the next day, though, a new issue of Baldur’s Mouth went out, and citizens of all classes were talking about the latest event: Lord Ariax Rillyn, a respectable patriar and judge, had been arrested! He was accused of ritual, cult murder in Tumbledown, and of consorting with the undead. Rillyn, in turn, implicated an accomplice in the murders: someone named Lady Astele Keene, a patriar noblewoman who lived alone with only a few servants on the east side of the Upper City. The article was vague and made very few speculations—perhaps owing to Primeiro’s intervention—but the rumor mills were happy to fill in the gaps with every imaginable scenario. The murders seemed to surprise no one, in light of Lord Rillyn’s sable moonflower addiction, which was discovered at the same time.

Primeiro returned to the offices of Baldur's Mouth, and attempted to set the record straight with its owner, Eldren Needle. The woman in Tumbledown hadn't been murdered, he insisted; she'd died of illness and evidence had been planted there. A thorough examination by a healer or cleric could reveal this. Eldren appreciated the information, especially when Primeiro revealed his real identity—but he wasn't comfortable revealing the inside story the mage was suggesting. Now wasn't the time to be too bold. The atmosphere in Baldur's Gate was getting...volatile, to say the least. One must be careful. Since Duke Abdel's death, anything seemed possible.

Eldren leveled with Primeiro and told him more about himself and the Mouth. Eldren had been the son of a wealthy Lower City tailor. After growing up watching Upper City citizens compel his father to bend and grovel, Eldren decided to give power to the common people in the form of information. So he began paying lamp lads and lasses to shout his stories of injustices during the day. Since many of his employees were illiterate and had to memorize his news articles, Eldren decided to teach them to read so he could give them written copies. Thus far, the popularity of Baldur's Mouth has kept it safe. As his expenses mounted, Eldren sought out sponsors, which led to his attracting advertising and diversifying his criers' stories. Eventually had had the money to procure several "mechanical scribes," wondrous machines built by Gondsman, which allows him to rapidly produce broadsheets.

But—and this is where Primeiro's forthcoming actions helped—Eldren admitted there's been a darker side to his business. While he disliked the Guild almost as much as he loathed the patriars, Eldren considered himself a good friend and admirer of Rilsa Rael. Her commitment to the Outer City's residents impressed him, and Eldren had hoped to persuade her to transform the Guild from the predatory criminal organization that many say it is to a sort of mercenary citizens' watch not unlike the Flaming Fist. He'd supported Rael through Baldur's Mouth and allowed her to send messages through its pages to Guild operatives, but now he's become worried. Worried that the Guild is as responsible for the city's instability as the overzealous Flaming Fist or the increasing paranoia of the patriars. And worried about Rilsa Rael herself. He knows she has the people's interest in mind, but in the last few days, she's become....angrier.

"It's got to be Abedel's death," Eldren insisted. "Everyone loved the man. He used to carouse with anyone and everyone. The Council, the Peers, and of course Ulder Ravengard was an old friend. And everyone knew—or at least suspected—that he had some Guild friends, too. Like me, I think he wanted to use the Guild for less illegal purposes, to put their talents to work publicly, openly. He probably knew Rilsa personally."

But once Eldren began to talk about Rilsa Rael, he opened even more, almost seeming desperate to unburden himself. He told Primeiro what he knew of Rael herself. She was not the Guild's leader—that title went to a person named Nine-Fingers. "I don't think even Abdel knew much about Nine-Finger." But Rilsa was the kingpin of Little Calimshan, having climbed rapidly through the ranks since she joined up at a young age. As a child, Rilsa's Calishite father had been hanged by the Flaming Fist for harboring her uncle when the Fist was after him for some crime. Her mother, a beautiful Tethyrian woman, then became a patriar's courtesan in order to support Rilsa. But when the man's wife discovered the trysts, she demanded that Rilsa's mother be imprisoned in the Seatower of Balduran—and so she was, and remained for years, wasting away and eventually dying in the dungeons while her patriar lover went unpunished. That was young Rilsa's turning point. She joined a gang in the Outer City district of Norchapel, and her mixed heritage and language skills gave her a natural advantage in bringing Little Calimshan fully under the Guild's influence. In time, Rael's talent at going unnoticed and her skill with a knife earned her a position on the "Lady's Court"—Nine-Finger's bodygards. But seeing Rael's potential, Nine-Fingers eventually installed her as Little Calimshan's kingpin. The Guild has one for each district.

And that it when Eldren Needle stopped talking. Realizing he'd maybe said too much, not wanting to betray Rilsa, he finally clammed up. Clearly, he wanted someone to help and Primeiro, as a foreigner and local hero, had been that someone for now. But Eldren asked him to leave...he had to think.

Even as trash and sewage issues continued to mount, later that same day, a new decree issued from the Council of Dukes: The Upper City's gates would be be barred at 3 bells (mid-afternoon) each day instead of at dusk, allowing none to enter beyond that time. So, a very early curfew. Not a violent turn, but it was clear that the people who conducted business in the Upper City but didn't live there would be impacted.

Primeiro sought a meeting with Rilsa and it was clear that Eldren Needle wouldn't be arranging it. So on the second day of his friends' absence, he went to the Outer City and visited her pawn shop, the Calim Jewel Emporium. He found her there at the store front, conducting business with several customers—poor-looking Outer City residents clearly not from Little Calimshan. Rael looked tired. Primeiro watched unobtrusively as the Guild kingpin paid a young mother Rael's own age, who was holding a much-too-quiet infant in her arms, eight pieces of silver for a ratty-looking belt pouch and a bent spoon. Essentially, silver for trash. Silver probably acquired through the Guild's coffers. Looking grateful, the young mother hurried out of the shop with more energy than she'd entered it with.

Rael looked at Primeiro when they were alone. "I'm rather busy today, Master d'Pirazzi. I strongly suggest you come back tomorrow...maybe at this same time of day." Lowering her voice, she added, "In the meantime, I strongly suggest that you ask yourself what the Council is up to. What new surprises for us all? It certainly keeps me up at night. And just so you know: Your friends are alive...on her mercy." Then she disappeared into a back room, leaving the wizened-looking Musayed—a turbaned Calishite who didn't speak Common—to man the store front.

So Primeiro was left to wander again. Alone.

After only a single say, the Upper City lockout at 3 bells was beginning to reveal its economic impact: Lower and Outer city merchants would have to close their stalls in the Wide hours earlier than Upper City stalls. The residents of the Blackgate district who worked unloading the ships in the harbor or in the many Lower City shops would have to leave their jobs hours earlier in order to reach the Black Dragon Gate before it was sealed.


Meanwhile, new got out that patriar Wyllyck Caldwell, for reasons unknown, had turned down the nomination for duke. This was the man Ravengard said he did like but was afraid that as duke he'd just become a puppet of the Peers. With only Ravengard remaining as a candidate for duke and the uncertainty of the events surrounding Ariax Rillyn's arrest, Grand Duke Portyr persuaded the Parliament of Peers to defer any decisions at this time. So for now, no new duke was to be elected at all.

The city's sumptuary laws—forbidding displays of obvious wealth among non-patriars—had rolled down into the Lower City streets as well, and the Flaming Fist was grudging enforcing it. Even they didn't seem happy about it.

More vandalism was cropping up. More painted signs of "Down with the patriars!", "Free Baldur's Gate!", and "Extinguish the Flaming Fist!" were appearing, defacing public property. More minor criminals going to the stocks, and still more going to the dungeons of the Seatower.

And in the last two days, several fires had sprung up during the night. They didn't spread far amidst the constant drizzle, and injuries were minimal, but they were all buildings that drew money away from the Outer City. Guild houses, or places of business that excluded the membership of Outer City residents. Even some residences of individuals who speak openly against the poor.

And that's when Primeiro heard about the kidnappings.

In the past, kidnappings for ransom in Baldur's Gate was a frequent, if minor problem—going years back. Typically, kidnappers demanded relatively low ransoms, which were paid, and the victims were set free. No kidnapped victims in the Gate had been harmed beyond the loss of a finger for at least a generation. In one famous incident, Duke Abdel himself had shut down a kidnapper's ring and saved more than twenty kids, storming a safe house with only two Flaming Fist privates and  personally killing their leader.

But things had clearly changed, and there was now no Abdel Adrian around. News reached the streets before even Baldur's Mouth could report it: there had been new kidnappings in just the last couple of days. The ransoms were high, the payment instructions murky. The adolescent son of Valaith Chadur, a well-known Lower City stonecarver, was the first. The boy's strangled body was found near the harbormaster's office. The second victim was Lara Alreven, the wife of Alraner Alreven, owner of a glassblower's shop. Her bludgeoned body was dumped in an alley outside the Elfsong Tavern. The third was Harali Avir, the daughter of Aurayaun, owner of the Blade and Stars. Her body was found outside Sorcerous Sundries. All the victims were Lower City residents.

The Flaming Fist and the Watch were now out in force in their respective jurisdiction, interrogating and getting rough with even the most helpful citizens. Only the Guild could have done this, was the common outcry. But the Outer City people shook their heads and said it was a scheme of the patriars.

On the way to visit Rael on the third day of his friends' absence, and feeling overwhelmed acting alone, Primeiro found himself walking through a heavy downpour. The sky was cloudy and dark, and the streets were nearly empty as citizens sought shelter from the rain. A barking, then yelping dog sprinted past the mage from around one street corner, followed by a sudden swarm of screeching rats. It sent Primeiro ducking into an alley for safety...

...Where he noticed a curious item sitting atop a pile of trash because a peculiar odor had drawn his attention to it. A cracked ceramic bowl that smelled of sulfur and smoke—the alchemical nature of it was obvious, but there was something about it seemed rare, and out of place [pending an Intelligence check!]. Primeiro pocketed the item after seeing initials carved into its base: F E L O G Y R / B G.

When he reached the Calim Jewel Emporium at the designated hour of the morning, Primeiro found that Rilsa Rael was not there. But another Calishite man was. When the mage asked him about Rael, he simply pointed to a bowl full of copper jewelry, where Primeiro found an old brass key with a rune imprinted on it and a folded-up note that read:

Per 9-F, LL reparations have been satisfied.

In the Undercellar, give this to Ribbons.

Now Primeiro needed to find out what and where the "Undercellar" was. When he asked the Calishite clerk, the man smiled and said, "Try the Wide."