In the three weeks since you turned the Demon Possessed Watch over to Navanna Vladaam, the Shivvel trade in the city spread like wildfire.  Gang activity was on the rise, and long-standing alliances were shifting.

Against that backdrop, you had dinner with Lord Zavere of Castle Shard.  He confessed that his operatives were responsible for the original fire on Salachor Isle that set the Watch loose into the city.  So while he is disappointed with how things have turned out, he believes he shares the blame for this turn of events.  Though he had no current options, he is looking into how the Vladaams might be stopped, and hoped you would be allies when the time comes.

On your way home from dinner, you were cornered in an alley by a gang of Vladaam-paid thugs and werewolves.  They said they represented Navanna, and demanded to know what happened to the Hand of Danar.  You told them you didn’t have it, but gave no further information.  One ran off with that message, while the others attacked.  The combat was vicious, and when it was over you cut off a hand from each thug to send back to Navanna as a message.

Back at your home you were visited by Brother Fabitor.  The cleric told you that Kalrecent was now stationed at the Sealed Door of the Banewarrens to ensure no one gained entry (the Church of Lothian still believes that the Vladaams have the Hand).  Fabitor also told you that Helmut Itelstein is back in town.  Though he is being removed from his post at the Watcher of the Skies Temple, Helmut is not under arrest, as Fae still believes he is innocent.  Fae herself is still being kept in a safe house, her child due any day.

Amid all this, Phen relayed a job that he needed help with.  His guild had a mid-level boss recently defect to the Vladaams, and they wanted Phen to recover a weapon that belonged to the guild.  Given the crime boss, Korben Trollone, was now allied with the Vladaams, the group had no trouble agreeing to help.

You scouted Korben’s business for hours before making your way in just before the close of business.  Phen disguised himself as Navanaa, with the rest of the group posing as her personal retinue.  The ruse didn’t fool the one shop guard, however, and you were forced to kill him.

Scouring the place, you searched for the supposed “beasts” that Korben was known to keep.  You found a secret back room with crates of Shivvel, a clear sign of Korben’s new alliance with the Vladaams.   There was also a trapdoor in the floor, which you saved for later.

Heading upstairs, you found Korben’s wife and teenage son.  Unable to extract information out of them, you turned to leave.  Just then, the boy stabbed Yasin in the back, gravely wounding him.  The rest of the party came to his defense, despite the mother’s plea for mercy.  When the boy was lying unconscious, Yasin personally delivered the killing shot with an arrow.  You left the mother to her grief and headed back down.

You used the trapdoor to gain access to the hidden cellar, where you found the expected animals.  First gorillas attacked, followed by a saber-toothed tiger, owl bear, and a giant snake.  In the middle of the fray Korben himself emerged from a side room.  Through good tactics and some luck you were victorious despite being outnumbered.  Phen recovered the Beastblade from Korben.

Back at your home, there was a brief discussion on what to do with some of the papers taken from Korben’s lair.  The papers named operatives within the Killraven Gang (which Phen now admitted was the guild he worked for).  Given their importance to him, Phen was allowed to keep the papers.

With the week winding down, two visitors arrived at your home.  First, Jevicca Norr came with news of the Chaos Cults, as payment for your delivery of the Hand of Danar.  A secret cult meeting was to be held in Midtown in the coming days, and she shared the details.  Second, a distraught man showed up, calling himself Fennic.  He looked for Carric, and said that “Elmira and Jol are missing”.  Without explanation, Carric quickly escorted the man to his bedroom for a private conversation . . .