Last time in the mystery campaign, the party solved the mystery, defeating Riviel Jassimir and overturning her hold on the city of Yamseth. They developed goals for changing the city and tending to their affairs in epilogue sessions. This time, they begin work on those goals and discover that there may be opposition yet.
After leaving Jassimir Tower, the party headed to the Briscoe Inn for drinks and food. Ais explained over the meal the history of her possession by Izzunech, a tale of Ais' curiosity saddling her with a terrible curse. Beor explained that he planned to remain in the city and unite Yamseth's workers and seize the means of production from those in the Above. Looking to extend their celebrations, the party opted to leave for another bar.
They headed a ways across town to a bar called The Xenolith and ordered drinks which were very nearly but not quite Spanish coffees. There was a half-elven band playing intense music that relied on dueling lutes, heavy drums, and sharp flute; the bar was filled with people dancing. When it grew intense enough for a mosh pit to form, Beor joined in. Afterwards, the whole party tried orcish tequila, which made everyone quite drunk. [At least, it did about half an hour later when I realized that Beor's alcohol immunity from the first day of the campaign was removed when Tunder blessed him and removed his lycanthropy. We initially played it with Beor sober, but retconning it later was actually more fun in its own way.] Because everyone was so drunk (especially Ais), the bartender made a moss and nettle tea, which sobered Ais considerably.
In a more quiet moment, Montana stepped outside of the bar to seek a plant and speak to it. He spotted a tall and strong dandelion plant and spoke to it; it was Derek the Dandelion from the first investigation of the campaign. The two of them chatted and bade each other well, and Derek revealed that Jassimir had used a spell to fly towards the end of her fall and hadn't died--in fact, she had terrorized a neighborhood from the air. Montana returned to the bar and conveyed this information to the party. He also took a moment to obtain a hatchet, enchant it, and tell the bartender he had found his "next musical ax" (acts). It was high D&D: puns with elaborate setups. Still at the bar, Beor and Ais tried a spicy pepper honey gin, which Beor bought a bottle of as a gift for Ais since she had liked it so much.
It was about this point that one of the players--I won't say who--asked to fast forward through the rest of the partying. They were so eager to jump to the meaty work of finding the end of this story that the celebration had worn thin. And so we all agreed that the partying continued on in this fashion, with the drinking of exotic alcohols and having of good times, and moved on to the following morning. You should make sure that your players know that they can request to move on as long as they party agrees on it.
In the morning, Beor rose early and made coffee, then left for the market. He returned and made a grand breakfast for everyone, with bacon, eggs, potatoes, and pastries. As the others rose, they ate and drank coffee and began to plan. Once they had a sense of their day, they set out for the market. They returned to the tanner, who presented Montana with his new leather guitar case and Beor with his new hammer holster, on which she engraved "Perseverance" in dwarven. They also returned to the jewleler's, where they picked up and dispensed Beor's gifts. Ais was pleased with her ahornments and contracted the jeweler to suspend Izzunech's amulet in a block of amber.
They headed next for the guard headquarters and sought out the Chief of Police, Horace Barnes. Barnes unabashedly supported the status quo, claiming that any redistribution of wealth was strictly against the city's moral fiber and that everyone should be entitled to their own work. A debate between Barnes and Beor went on for some time, discussing the ethics and realities of government. They agreed about essentially nothing. Even with direct imploring, Barnes was unwilling to advocate for or even allow change.
The party changed tactics. They called over a collection of guards and asked them who among them supported jailing Barnes and overthrowing the city's government--the guards voted by a majority that Barnes would be detained and that the government would be restructured. With that matter aside, Barnes was placed in a cell.
One of the guards (a dwarf named Dolly Bronzebane) raised issue with the way the party was planning on dealing with Tajana. The party planned to honor their word and let her go, but Bronzebane believed that so many murders could not be forgiven. At the party's direction, she gathered the guards and arranged another vote. After the votes were in, it was decided that both Barnes and Tajana would remain in holding cells until a fitting consequence could be designed for each one.
That's where we left things due to time and because the business at the guard headquarters had largely come to a close. I'll acknowledge right off that last time I talked about Jassimir being dead, and now she's alive. I changed my mind. The party didn't get to kill Jassimir; Tunder dropped her off the ledge. I felt like the battle was anticlimactic, and I wanted to give the party another chance to actually get her themselves. Not to mention, a powerful wizard who can improvise spells can figure out plenty of ways to survive a fall, and one of Jassimir's status more than qualifies her for that. I'm much more satisfied with her alive for now, especially given the reaction it got from my players ("oh no" was the general consensus).
So with the first epilogue session done, there is a great deal of change a-brewing. If the party tries the same tactic they used with the guards on other parts of the population, things could be rapidly changing throughout the city. It's all in the players' hands to determine what happens next.
Next time in the mystery campaign, the party will consider how to create long-term solutions for Yamseth. The players will decide almost everything. Until next time, happy gaming!
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