Having cleared the front of the shop, the party proceeded into the backroom, a windowless area that they knew little about. Malva led the way, sneaking quietly around the corner into what appeared to be a sitting room and kitchenette. There were several more thugs milling about, but also one much more unusual looking Speaker dressed in dark robes, covered in markings that seem to move about on his flesh. Cephandrius launched a fireball into the space, catching several off-guard, as Branon and Vondal sped into the area to put the remainder to the sword. The Speaker pulled back the chest of his robes to reveal a gaping, ravenous hole into blackness that threatened to pull Malva and Brandon into its depths… wherever lay beyond it. Quick work by Viktor and Vondal finished the Speaker, saving the two halflings.

Off to the left, a closed door indicated another room off the main area. Malva listened quietly at the door, hearing the muffled sounds of a scuffle. Vondal kicked in the door and lunged at the first person he saw, a tall, thin masked woman dressed in all black, her armor scintillating like shimmering stars – Vondal had tackled the Nightingale Blade.

Having managed to surprise her, he successfully wrestled her to the ground as Branon fired his custom crossbow, capturing the two within a heavy chain net. Cephandrius moved quickly to defuse the situation, looking to parlay. Although the party could hear the Nightingale Blade’s response, they realized her words somehow reverberated in their minds and not in the air.

She agreed to lay down arms. Viktor and Cephandrius pulled the net up, allowing Vondal to quickly shuffle away from the assassin, but Adaka simply sighed heavily, shoulders drooping, and slumped into a chair at the nearby desk. This room was a bedroom and den: within there was also another dead Speaker and several other hired thugs that Vonbin and Adaka had already executed.

Speaking with Vonbin and Adaka, the party quickly understood that Vonbin had indeed been used as bait… by his employer, the Nightingale Blade. She had let him loose to draw those looking for her out into the open – these Speakers – the party were simply unexpected additions. She admitted that she had indeed assassinated the head of the thieves’ guild in Meadoros, but that he was not her primary target – just a side gig to acquire local currency for her expenses.