The party attended the Cultural Unity Gala at Wakanga’s Villa. A note from Pip Proudfoot warned Vonara that poison was in the air, and she dispelled it, though a few nobles and servants died before it was fully contained. Glade and Vonara accused Jessamine, who fled the gala by magic with her bodyguard Adani. The party then cornered a man named Garret, a Changeling, who confessed that he worked for Ras Nsi and had been sent to frame Jessamine. Garret talked his way out, and Wakanga signaled for the gala to go on.
Recap
The peacock and the omen
It is the evening of the twenty-third of Flamerule, 1492 DR, and the Cultural Unity Gala is held at Wakanga’s Villa. The party means to secure information regarding Mezro, specifically the Eye of Ubtao, through the auction that is to come. They arrive at the villa dressed in their custom attire from SURE.
Vonara is intercepted by Lord Cedric Montclair, who mocks her presence and attire. Ekene-Afa approaches and touches Cedric’s wine goblet. The wine instantly boils into blood and ash. It is a terrifying warning that his wealth means nothing to the jungle.
A nervous servant, who is Pip Proudfoot, Vonara’s informant, slips her a note while refilling her glass. It reads “The wine was a ruse. The true poison is in the air. Breathe shallowly.”
The countermeasure
Vonara takes the warning to heart and casts dispel magic, centered on the dining table. She feels a magical weave unravel. The spell neutralizes a gaseous variant of Midnight Tears that was enchanted into the air itself. Her quick thinking saves the majority of the guests from a mass casualty event.
Despite the intervention, the poison claims a few victims before it is fully contained, nobles and servants among them. A liveried servant collapses, choking and gasping, then vomits black blood and dies on the marble floor.
The flight of the serpent
Immediately after the servant’s collapse, chaos erupts. Glade and Vonara instantly turn their wrath on Jessamine, believing her to be the mastermind behind the poisoning that has just claimed lives.
Jessamine does not argue or fight. She realizes that the tide of opinion has turned violently against her, and she potentially senses the trap laid for her. She and her bodyguard, Adani, activate a contingency, warp out of existence and flee the gala entirely.
The sudden departure of the Zhentarim leader leaves a power vacuum in the hall and shifts the suspicion solely onto her remaining entourage.
The Changeling’s confession
With the merchant prince gone, the party focuses on the immediate vicinity of the crime. Amid the panic they pinpoint the true source of the trigger: Garret, the man dressed in Zhentarim green.
The party corners Garret. Under pressure his form shifts and reveals him to be a Changeling. He confesses that he is not working for Jessamine. He works for Ras Nsi. His mission was to frame Jessamine for the poisoning, to destabilize the Merchant Princes and sow chaos in Port Nyanzaru.
Through some careful words and quick deals, Garret manages to talk his way out of the situation. He walks out of the gala unscathed and leaves the party with the bitter truth that they are being watched by the Fane.
The show must go on
With the bodies cleared and the immediate threat neutralized, Wakanga signals for the event to continue. The party remains at the villa, shaken but determined to take part in the auction.
Aftermath
- A few nobles and servants were dead of the poison. Vonara’s spell had saved the majority of the guests.
- Jessamine and Adani had fled, and Jessamine’s status was unknown.
- Garret, a Changeling and an agent of Ras Nsi, walked free.
- Lord Cedric Montclair had been humiliated by Ekene-Afa.
- Pip Proudfoot’s note had saved the party.
Appendix
Present
Taenae · Vogal · Takhesis Calva · Vonara · Glade.
References
People: Lord Cedric Montclair · Ekene-Afa · Pip Proudfoot · Jessamine · Adani · Ras Nsi · Wakanga
Places: Wakanga’s Villa · SURE · Mezro · Port Nyanzaru
Other: Zhentarim · Merchant Princes · Eye of Ubtao