Two more errands, then it’s on to the Mercane Agency and then the Shellhole. Fingers crossed that the party’s insane luck continues to hold…

Upon catching up with the party, Justinia immediately requests a gold piece and runs back off again to the inn to have her fortune read, Aradyn in tow. M. A. D. S., Mace, Bren, Luchia, and Blorp stop by the Smith’s Coster for ammo and other supplies. While Mace, Blorp, and M. A. D. S. are focused on the firearms, Luchia makes her way to a section selling potions. She is unfortunately unable to lift any of the potions, instead getting drawn into conversation with the strange old woman making and selling the potions.

Back at the inn and now armed with a gold piece, Justinia asks the insectoid woman to tell her fortune. Instead, Justinia accidentally creates a feedback loop by “detecting thoughts” while the fortuneteller is detecting Justinia’s thoughts. Further conversation with Justinia as she opens up her brain sends the faux fortuneteller into an existential spiral. Unable to get any further response from the insectoid woman, Justinia listens in to the thoughts of the inn’s patrons, overhearing a guard in an Ebon Claw uniform thinking about a plan to ambush and take down Mahaxara at their meetup tonight.

As Ermine is locking up for the night, the party finally makes their way back to the Mercane Agency. Thankfully, the Mercane’s were pleased with the opportunity to get more information about those in charge of the illegal spelljamming operation and are willing to loan the party a helm under two conditions: 1. They hide tracking device on the helm, and 2. They ensure the helm goes further than just Mahaxara. With the party’s agreement with those terms, Ermine also loans them a set of rings that create a demi-plane for easier transport of the helm.

With a few hours still until the meeting and knowing that an ambush is being prepared, the party heads to the Shellhole early for some recon. Mace and Aradyn set themselves up at a table inside the bar with the rest of the party keeping eyes peeled outside. After a while they spot two Ebon Claw guards walking into the bar, and, unfortunately, one of the guards is the same one that caught the party on the docks by the Broken Beaks’ burning ship.

The two guards make their way over to Mace and Aradyn’s table, and the two unsuccessfully attempt to get them to call off the ambush, even going so far as to reveal that they are working with the Mercane Agency to try to root out the whole gang. However, the guards seem to pretty firmly believe that Maxahara is the one calling the shots, and they tell Mace and Aradyn to not get involved.

Mace and Aradyn leave the bar and fill in the party on what’s going on, including Melvin, the slender goliath, who has made friends with Blorp, M. A. D. S. and Justinia and is VERY eager to fuck up some guards. Luchia takes off to try to catch and warn Maxahara on her way to the bar, but instead she catches up with Towerin—wearing street clothes—and her construct hound. Towerin sends her hound off to warn Mahaxara, and the two make their way to bar.

After a short time, Bren, who had been slowly walking the streets around the building to keep watch, hears Mahaxara ask from behind her if the helm is secure. She quickly assures Mahaxara that they do. Maxahara offers them an out, telling Bren that there will be no hard feelings if the party is able to stealthily get her the helm before sneaking off themselves, but, hoping to ensure that the helm moves further than Maxahara, the party prepares to fight. In a flash of genius, Mace goes inside and orders a beer before using a device that speaks the message “Fuck off!” to make it sound like the Ebon Claw guard provoked him and throwing his beer at the guard’s face to start a bar fight…