Following their first unsuccessful trip to the Emerald Spire, the triplets awake to the noise of a large caravan passing by the farm. They witness the arrival of about 120 Hellknights, accompanied by a convoy of forty wagons. A few of the wagons are marked as belonging to the Hellknights, but most of the others are merchants plying their wares around the River Kingdoms. Wagons of all shapes and sizes, decorated in different and outlandish colors and flying the flags of several of the Inner Sea kingdoms are arriving in Fort Inevitable for the annual Spring Fair.
Gerald decides to head out to the woods, and see if he can locate himself a familiar. Spending the entire day, he eventually manages to call forth a turtle, which he promptly names Kymdy the turtle. He also discovers that his turtle will reach sexual maturity in 12 years, a topic Gerald is apparently very interested in.
Darelle and Daryle accomplish their daily tasks, and they decide to then head to the Fair. Merchants are selling various wares, and as they set up for the next week they still hope to make a sale. There's a seller of cloth bolts made of the finest silks as well as other fabrics. A spice merchant from Galt has several wares, and Darelle purchases some herbs for Mother Holworth. There's a jeweler, a seller of kitchen utensils, a leather worker, a ropes and adventuring gear, several food vendors and food supplies, a weapons merchant, and a carpet merchant as well as several fortune tellers and entertainers. Daryle explores the leather goods, and notices several bracers she's interested in, but the price, at 6 crowns, is too high for her.
That evening, the triplets return to the Fair to partake in the entertainment of the evening, and Darelle returns to purchase more herbs for Mother Holworth. Leaving the herbalist's wagon, she notices she has a jar of cephalophage mushrooms in her bag, which contains three of them. As they walk through the fair, they notice Thorne talking to another man who towers over him. Daryle overhears Thorne saying to the man “Dr. Mordel has what you’re looking for.” The other man replies “What about the Clockmaster?,” to which Thorne answers, “He’s ready for the exchange,” but then Darelle’s fall interrupts the conversation, and Thorne quickly disappears in the crowd. Despite their best effort, Daryle, Darelle and Gerald are unable to track either Thorne or the man he was talking to.
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Alina mentions to the triplets that their brother Thorne has not been around for four days. Gerald, Darelle and Daryle realize that he’s been missing since they last saw him at the fair that night, but they had been too busy to notice.
Going into Fort Inevitable, the Coopers make discreet inquiries, and receive two pieces of information. At Braddon's General Store, Thom informs them that he hasn’t seen Thorne either for the last few days, and that he’s missed two days of work. Last he heard Thorne was involved in some smuggling operation through the sewer system with an outsider, an offense punishable by death if caught by the Hellknight patrols send periodically through the sewers.
At Dr. Mordel’s house and office, the Coopers are greeted by Erynna, Dr. Mordel’s assistant, who gets the doctor. He advises the party that he knows Thorne, as he’s been here several times making deliveries to the house from the general store, but that he has not seen him in about a week.
Darelle, who is interested in healing, decides to volunteer with Dr. Mordel, and he welcomes her assistance in help Mrs. Palmgrave with her bunions.
Daryle purchases a leather pouch from the leather merchant in the fair. The pouch features a small rose carved on the belt of the pouch, the merchant’s trademark. On the fairgrounds she hears the rumor that a rich man from Thornkeep plans on mounting an expedition to Mosswater to reclaim the town and its once profitable dye business. She also hears the rumor that Numeria may be getting ready to launch an assault on Pitax.
Gerald researches the origins of the sewer system of Fort Inevitable. A new network of main sewer lines were built by the Hellknights about ten years ago, and connect every area of the town to two central collecting tunnels that then pours into the pond. At some point, the water acquires an acidic level that kills most life in the pond. The new tunnels connected some of the smaller tunnels built decades earlier, as well as to a warren of natural caves and tunnels excavated centuries ago by unknown people.
That night, they decide to explore the sewers, since this is where Thorne was last headed. If they are stopped, Gerald will claim that he is compiling a history of the sewer system, to determine future needs and improved construction methods. Unfortunately, however, they are spotted by Ferdin, the Juliver Arms' stableboy, and they buy his silence for 1 crown.
They begin mapping the sewer system, and realize that one of the side lines passes directly next to the Citadel, while another line passes by Dr. Mordel's house. The tunnel is inscribed with coded words. Eventually, after a few hours of mapping, they reach one of the collection pools, and they disturb a mass of rats attacking two hapless goblins. This is located right underneath Karlyle the butcher, and Daryle notices there is way more blood and body parts down here than a regular butcher operation would suggest.
The triplets decide to intervene, and they quickly chase the rats away, only to disturb a Creepy Crawly creature feeding on the discarded feast. After a brutal combat, they are able to slay it, and manage to harvest a few doses of the creature's poison that causes paralysis.
They discover Thorne bloodied and paralyzed in the creature's nest. He had been gnawed on a little, but he was alive, if unconscious. They take him back to Roscoe's room at the inn, and, the following morning, take him back to the farm.
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