Back at the Last Call Inn, they picked up a copy of that morning's GOLEMIC SCRIBES, and saw that they had made the stop press by sinking the ship. They then ate and rested, having been up all night. Once they were refreshed, they then started to discuss what to do next. Corrie and Crompton wanted to go back to Purl to see if they had found anything. While they were in discussion, the door to the Inn opened and a familiar figure walked in.
"I understand yo have lost my daughter?" said Lassarail Goldmane none to gently. They explained what had happened and he was not a little angry with them. Corrie, however, put him in his place: "If you are so concerned, then you can help us to find her, you know Calimport better than most of us." Lassarail actually blushed. "I - I can't. I've been tasked with another problem and won't be able to help."
"So you're going to abandon her in Calimport again? It seem to be a habit with you doesn't it?" Corrie angrily replied. Lassarail could not defend himself and left them soon after. Julienne, however, was quite taken by the Gold Elf's striking appearance. Corrie tried her best to put her off!
Later that day, an incident occurred which was to change the tone of the whole adventure. As usual, Pallas was flying above them as Corrie, Crompton, Chartrise and Julienne travelled to the Purl Information Brokers. Suddenly Pallas disappeared from Corrie's mind - not a warning of danger or anything, just vanished! She was, needless to say, frantic with worry. A short time later a voice appeared in her mind:
"Keep calm - do not let the others know that anything is happening. If you wish to see your familiar again, be at the steps before the Sharess Temple near the docks within two hours. Do not try anything unusual - we have you at our mercy. Any funny business and we will be having roast owl for supper. Come alone - do not tell any of the others of this." Corrie tried to respond, but the connection had broken.
As instructed, Corrie was at the steps to the Shares temple two hours later. Suddenly a voice instructed her to look up at a window in a building opposite. There she saw a cruel-looking man holding a small cage in one hand and a knife in the other. In the cage, crammed in tight so she was unable to move was Pallas.
"Remember no funny business or the bird suffers. Now we are going to come to an arrangement you and I" the man spoke into her mind. He explained that something had come into Calimport a few days ago which the people he worked for had been looking for for some years. Unfortunately, it had been taken away from them just yesterday. He wanted Corrie to work for them to pass on any information they found out about this "object", which they might know by the name Marie. She had once worked for his employers but had betrayed them. They wanted their revenge upon her but were annoyed when it was taken from them. "Look to Brandson and Haldeman for they are surely involved." Corrie was told how to contact him, but he did not reveal his name to her. She got a good look at his face through and memorized his features. Corrie almost immediately broke one of his rules in that she straight away told the other members of the party what had happened.
In the meantime, news had been picked up from Purl. They found several rumours and bits of information about Marie's background: How she had worked for Parvel, and how her lover and baby daughter were killed in what was thought to be an internal power struggle within Parvel. She left Calimport just before a major Guild war broke out between Parvel and Brandson.
Corrie went back to Purl and described the man who she had seen. Almost immediately, they identified him as Randsom, a strong arm enforcer, currently working for Parvel. He was a nasty piece of work and had some strange magic like abilities which were not magical. She also found out that he was a Loviatar worshipper and frequented the Temple near the Slave Market. His known associates were identified and the location of the Mansion they owned near Halfling Shire. The information cost Corrie a great deal of money, but she considered it money well spent.
Crompton paid another visit to Gnome Mines after reading that Arbuthnot Clawhand, the High Priest of Garl Glittergold was murdered the day before. His offer of assistance was met with a wall of indifference and with a shock he realised that even though he was a Gnome, the insular residents of Gnome Mines still considered him to be an outsider. This insularity drove them to quarantine themselves from the rest of the city for several days afterward. Crompton was not very impressed with their attitude.
Chartrise went back to the Mask Temple, hidden beneath the hill known as Rogues Prospect to try to ferret out any information she could on Randsom and where Marie might be being held.
Later that night, preparations were begun for an investigation into the mansion where it was rumoured Randsom lived. Events would be taking another startling turn...