As Raul embraced this mysterious crown the rest of the party gathered their wits. Baelon explored the large piles of materials used in the explosion taking a few samples while Argento began to plan an exit with his keen memory. The party agreed it would be best to bring there findings to Lord Mendes, they now had proof of treachery, who was behind it and why could not be said. After a short jaunt out of the tunnel which was no longer enchanted the group decided it would be best to check in at the Winery where they could regroup and recover a bit. There Grandma Grettle used the Winery Kitchen with Leo to cook up some fresh rations, while Baelon gathered himself some supplies. Muk to the letter got a royal ass chewing from his wife while Argento entertained the children with the wooden toys he had carved these past few days. After a short rest and recovery the group decided to swing by Mendes keep to send a quick message to arrange a meeting at the Belly Up Inn at midnight. From their the group decided to run a few errands and meet up at the Belly Up Inn. Since nothing unusual seemed to be happening in town Argento headed to the True Steel the smith to commission a new Glaive unique to his style of fighting while the rest of the group decided to investigate the trap door in the Inn. Though the bouncer Maurice was concerned about their investigation he allowed it as long as Grey Gor was not around. Bertold and Baelon decided to investigate the trap door and the latter leading down, though they could not see anything clearly they had their suspicions that it was rigged the same as the other door outside of town. Baelon used a bit of minor magic to cause tremors down the tunnel which caused one of the explosive traps to set off collapsing the tunnel. Impassible the two magicians stood dumbfounded…the explosion had shaken the inn and just in time as Grey Gor entered.
In a rush Maurice and Meltu rushed the party out the back door before drunken Grey Gor could discover the trap door his employees put in without his knowing. The party simply doubled back into the inn as if they had just arrived. Baelon took up with his new business associate Grey Gor to discuss their wine arrangement, 3 barrels a week would be provided to the Belly Up Inn in exchange for 75gp a barrel, thus taking over the Contract from Up to Noir Good. After Argento rejoined the party, they decided while they waited for Lord Mendes meeting at Midnight they would explore the Beletanian Zoo.
When the party reached the zoo Grandma Grettle was able to user her small wings to fly over the makeshift walls of the zoo storage area and unlock the door from the inside. As the party entered into the space they noticed the animals in the cages were overly aggressive and agitated, green of eyes similar to the parade. This startled the guards of the zoo and several orcs and a gnome named Boos confronted the party. Baelon and Grandma Grettle immediately picked up on the fact he was hiding something as they engaged in conversation. Baelon informed Boos that the party was a group of investigators hired by the Fest Master to bring the owner of the zoo in for questioning for they were deemed the responsible party for the damage of the festival. The party began to spread out as if it was going to work.
Meanwhile on the other side of the enclosure Bertold’s curiosity with a muzzled unicorn was too much to withstand…Using a bit of his illusionary magic he flicked the muzzle of the sentient unicorn and just as the clasps fell lose the Unicorn named Marvin Yelled, “He Killed Zimo!” Immediately the orcs and Boos attacked and an onslaught of violence ensued. As the party struggled to fight due to Muk’s fear of the beasts in the cages Baelon charmed him with a bout of bravery so that he could overcome this fear while Raul and Argento slashed their way through the archers and orcs. Grandma Grettle and Leo from the back helped through healing and distracting arrows. When things looked bleak for the Gnome Boos, he attempted to escape but Muk was on his tail. Attempting to grab him the two fell from the high wall onto the ground on there other-side. As the fighters cleaned up the others Baelon rushed toward the exit to reach Muk while Bertold mounted the Unicorn named Marvin and dashed to get Muk and Baelon. On the other side of the wall Muk seemingly polymophed into a small hafling child though no-one saw and he began shouting, “killer, magic user” as Boos attempted his escape. Baelon and Bertold rounded the corner on the back of Marvin to see this young child and the escaping Boos. Bertold launched 3 arcane bolts from his hand crossbow all landing perfectly, striking down their foe. Having not looked back and noticed Muk transformed back into his froggy self the two magicians pressed toward the Boos.
As Baelon and Bertold approached they attempted to stabilized the Gnome but Marvin rushed in and stomped in the gnomes face until it was unrecognizable. At this time the remaining party finished off the half orc guards and began their investigation around the Belatanian Zoo. City Guards approached Bertold and Baelon and the two informed them to retrieve someone with authority as witnesses to the crimes should be brought forth to make sure the party wasn’t accused of any disturbances. Bertold and Baelon went back to meet with Muk where they found the grung in a bush, claiming to have lost consciousness after “falling from the high wall”. The others had no reason to not believe him and proceeded to head back into the zoo with Marvin and help with the investigation of the Zoo.