Session 8

The Service Industry is Hell
The spined devils are quickly subdued, and interrogated. They don't seem to know much, beyond that they can sense Asmodeus' power through Visk's orb. They are quickly intimidated by the party into becoming "employees", and are dubbed Stove and Oven.

What a Demon Wants
The party decides to try and find out more about Asmodeus, and head to the House of Inspired Hands. They nearly avoid collision with a mechanical sparrow, and despite the late hour, make their way in. There, the party meet Valetta, a dragonborn priest of Gond. She explains that Asmodeus is the Lord of Hell, and at the party's question of what his intentions are, laughingly informs them that it is nigh impossible to discover the true intentions of a greater demon such as himself, beyond his dealings and the cult that worships him. She then leads them to meet Jezrynne Hornraven, a tiefling specializing in demonic artifacts, who recognizes the orb as a sort of communication device. Curiosity sated, Visk and Yelmaer head to the pub across the street. Meanwhile Avanna is introduced to Nim, a mute nimblewright gifted to the temple. Nim apologizes for the bird, and explains that it only tried to make it to ease its loneliness. Avanna promises to come visit Nim and be a friend. As she leaves the temple, she notices crows. Egg pursues them, and one briefly transforms into an imp-like creature before fleeing.

Roughly past noon now, they head to the Cassalanter Estate. Lord and Lady Cassalanter are pleasantly surprised at Avanna's sudden visit, and make introductions to the rest of the party. The Cassalanters fell on hard times a few years back, but they have since reversed their fortunes and restored their lucrative banking and money-lending business. Victoro and Ammalia's eldest son went to study abroad three years ago when the family was on the verge of bankruptcy. They have two other children, young twins named Terenzio and Elzerina. Lord Victoro Cassalanter is the only living heir of the late Caladorn Cassalanter, a former Masked Lord and a hero of the North. Over the years, the Cassalanters have founded a number of philanthropic societies and made generous donations to temples dedicated to good-aligned deities. They are known to worship Siamorphe, a demigod whose ethos is the nobility's right and responsibility to rule. This is easily seen in their home, as the entry hall is filled with more than three dozen symbols of Siamorphe. They are extremely uncomfortable at the mention of Asmodeus, as devil worshipping is highly looked down upon in Waterdeep. They send the party back to Trollskull in a luxurious carriage, and say they look forward to a dinner in the near future.

Looking for Work?
The party return to Trollskull and task the three urchins with keeping an eye out for suspicious birds, which they excitedly agree to. Additionally, the find two potential hirelings waiting for them, a kobold and a halfling. Visk notices, however, that the kobold doesn't look quite right. With some persuasion, the kobold reveals itself to be, in fact, three kobold in a trench coat, named Simon, Henry, and Todd. They reveal that they've had some difficulty getting work due to their relatively young age and diminutive size, despite the age of maturation in kobolds being six.

The other potential hire, halfling Kelso Fiddlewick, is an unassuming type - but Egg notes that he smells very strongly of rodent. When pressed on this, he gets increasingly defensive and nervous, before running away, though Yelmaer chases after him and says he's welcome back at any time. The kobolds are hired, and introduced to Stove and Oven, as well as the housecats.

I Wish That I Didn't Wake Up With Amnesia
Outside, Visk encounters Bonnie, who is pleased to see her, but can't recall the promised information. She gets increasingly hurt as Visk tries to test and confirm her identity. Suspecting that Bonnie may have had her memory erased, she brings the matter back to the party, and they decide to investigate.

They seek out Vincent Trench, who reveals that she shows symptoms consistent with that kind of magic, and directs them to the Tower of the Order to learn more. They head to the Tower, but are unable to find any spellcasters they recognize among the names of those registered who are capable of such magic. They visit Blackstaff Tower, and Vajra reveals that memory spells have long been illegal in Waterdeep, but that certain spells can undo it. At the Yawning Portal, Durnan reveals that the night after Visk left, Bonnie was seen speaking to a purple half-orc, but doesn't know much more than that.

Open For Business
Avanna deals with various guild representatives. At the opening of the newly-dubbed Lif's Place J.B. Nevercott and Fel'rekt visit, asking Visk if she's given any consideration to their offer, which she has not. Renaer visits as well, and after complimenting them on the state of the tavern, invite them to the opera the next evening, formal attire required.