Cecily summons the party, distracted and somewhat annoyed. She needs to go make contact, which means the party needs to gather information. They are tasked with finding out about the warship, as she was unaware that it would be there and doesn't know anything about it. She also needs them to find out if any rumors about Talthis reached Kitheroc ahead of them. Someone also needs to take either Alibi or Sapphire to their next venue in lue of Talthis. Hobbes and Vinter also intend to disembark shortly, so if they are going to follow them, they need to do that as well. The party decides that Luna and Vera will gather intelligence, Dorean and Eck will attempt to assist Hobbes and Vinter, while Ward and Mira will escort Sapphire or Alibi. Dorean has heard stories about an airship like the one in dock, either called the Red Prince or captained by the Red Prince, belonging to a mercenary company from somewhere. Ward recognizes the Red Prince as the commander of the company, named after his brutality on the battlefield and graceful swordsmanship.

Mira and Ward head to Vera's room to settle the fight between Sapphire and Alibi. Alibi is arguing that Sapphire is too vauable to lose and if she's kidnapped she'll have a harder time escaping because she has no choice but to be pretty. Sapphire is arguing that Alibi is under many of the same constraints. Rock, paper, scissors has historically not worked. Sapphire is official representative for the company and head actress, but Alibi is the understudy for basically everybody. Alibi refuses to let Sapphire go when she finds out that Talthis won't be able to accompany her. Ward decides this is over, and signals Mira to pick up one of the women. She grabs Sapphire and takes her to the deck of the ship, Alibi protesting the whole way; Sapphire is also somewhat upset about being manhandled in front of her peers, but accepts her fate.

Dorean and Eck go off in search of Hobbes and Vinter. Dorean asks about assisting them moving the crates. They accept her offer, as she says she has nothing else to do. She and Eck help move the crates to the dock. On the dock they discover that there are carriages with chicken legs and wings that operate as a flying taxi system. Eck is left to guard the boxes while Hobbes and Vinter bring down the rest of the crates and hire a wagon. Eck spies a naga—deep red scales with a blue underbelly wearing rough spun clothes—who seems about to approach, but flees when they see Eck standing guard. The crates retrieved, the group sets off to the drop-off point.

The airship dock is built in layers with stores and shops alongside the docks in addition to the actual docks. The main ground is frequently carved out of the stone. The floor with the Red Prince's warship is two above the Vevlet Amphithere, so Luna and Vera head up to look at some shops there and see if they can hear any information about the mercenary ship. This fourth floor is guarded more than the other floors. The warship has two of their own guards and a local one guarding the ramp. Several people that are probably from the Red Prince's crew are in the area, so they decide to listen in on conversations. The captain apparently tends to not tell their crew how long their shore leave is, and also that they don't have any orders. Vera leaves, but Luna approaches some of the members. She finds that one of the pair are supposed to be on guard duty. The company and ship are both called the Eternal Horizon.

Ward, Mira, and Sapphire acquire a chicken taxi for 9 silver to the theatre building. Ward is unable to determine how to go about recreating the chicken taxi himself. Mira notices a pink door without a shop attached and stops the chicken taxi when she notices Ward recognize the door. The chicken taxi stops immediately and waits for them to disembark. After some debate, they decide to go ahead and go to the door, which Ward explains belongs to a bakery he went to before the Shattering. Through the door, labeled "Life is Pain" in infernal, is a busy cafe storefront. A young man with white hair and gold eyes greets them. Sapphire greets the individual as Portio. He calls Allan out, telling him that he has visitors. Ward inquires after Xelbari; Xelbari has been missing for a while. Alan and Portio have taken over Life is Pain, having only managed to get a few of the doors operating after his disappearance. Alan is looking for him when he can. Once finding out that the food tastes good, Ward orders one of everything, which they agree he will pick up on the way back to the airship. Their business finished, they walk the rest of the way to the venue.

Hobbes and Vinter seem to know the city and are able to lead them along a pretty straight path toward their destination. Eck asks the two if they know anything about the warship. Vinter indicates that it's bad news and he doesn't like it. Hobbes explains that the Eternal Horizon is a notorious vessel. It shows up every once in a while, with nobody particularly pleased to see them except for their employers. It is most likely they're either passing through or meeting with a client rather than currently on task. Hobbes observes that the Red Prince is a dangerous and charming man, but fair as well. He further explains that Hobbes and Vinter had once been hired by a village to protect them from invading bandits. The bandits ended up being part of a much larger group. A higher up hired the Eternal Horizon to exterminate the bandits. Hobbes had begged the Red Prince to try to minimize collateral damage while they waged war in the village; he acquiesced, though Vinter thinks they shouldn't have had to ask in the first place. Eventually they reach their destination, an empty warehouse that holds only an empty wagon pulled by a chocobo. The individual in charge there is upset that more than the two of them are there, but agrees to hurry and move the crates. The people working to move them are wearing cloaks, clearly hiding their identity. Two are humans or human adjacent and one is likely a dwarf. Vinter is on-edge about the situation while Hobbes and Dorean help move the crates. Dorean notices that one of the workers has a ring that they recognize, a signet ring worn by members of the Lab. The leader notices Dorean and asks her name. She doesn't give it to him and, when he seems to recognize her, she grabs him.

The adventurers' guild in Kitheroc is near the airship docks, so it is a relatively short walk for Luna and Vera. Along the way they don't hear anything worth noting. The building itself is set up in three sections, one central hub for business and quick stops, with a smaller pavilion for lodging and one acting as a tavern. At the counter are a female-presenting catgirl, a gnoll of standard hyena coloring, a female-presenting centaur with a palomino coat and chestnut hair with a white streak, and a female goblin. The goblin greets them, introduces herself as Cricket. She points out the other workers as Praz, Brier, and Chinomene. She warns them to avoid the Roc's Chosen, the city's nobles, chosen by the roc to administer the city. Chinomene joins, telling Cricket not to bad-mouth the Roc's Chosen. They discuss the potential for needing rooms and the loud party going on in the southern pavilion. As Chinomene leaves, she comments to herself that something has happened twice that day, but won't elaborate when questioned. Vera and Luna proceed to the southern pavilion to pester the large group. Upon entering, they immediately notice the man in the center of the room—Luna's father.

Mira, Ward, and Sapphire successfully arrive at the theatre hall. The owner, a graying and balding blonde halfling, greets them. He and Sapphire head upstairs, leaving Ward and Mira downstairs. Ward sends Henrietta upstairs, using her senses to keep an eye on them. Mira stays close to Ward, unwilling to leave him unguarded by exploring the place too much. Upstairs, Ward observes the man and Sapphire confirming details they had already decided upon ahead of time and other details about the performance. They overhear some workers talking about how there were the bodies of elves being found missing their ears and also that people were going missing that weren't just elves. Over all the meeting lasts an hour and a half, which Ward pays attention to for its duration. Mira occupies herself by investigating the couch cushions, finding loose change. Sapphire returns and the trio heads back to Life is Pain. Portio and Alan have Ward's order prepared, and Alan says that it's time to talk about Xelbari. Two years prior, Alan returned from an extended vacation to resign and found that Life is Pain was ransacked and had been closed for a while—the back office is still inaccessible. Ward questions the office, which Alan explains was also accessed via a magical door. The key for the back office is missing, meaning that the means he'd had of accessing it was no longer functioning. Ward recognizes that it is incredibly powerful magic and most likely beyond his ability to deal with. Alan also explains that Xelbari is a lord of hell and that Xelbari's sister, who has observes hasn't been by recently either, is the goddess of bonds renewed, and that they shared the office. Sapphire explains that Xelbari is powerful and resourceful, so it's difficult to tell if something incredibly disasterous has happened or if he just got incredibly distracted. Alan hasn't attempted praying to Xelbari, partially because that'd be a wild thing to try and partially because prayer doesn't really work after the Shattering; they also haven't tried casting Sending due to Alan not knowing how to do magic. Alan and Portio send them off with Ward's purchase, an additional bundle of goods for the Fourth Act, and a stack of punched rewards cards.

Eck removes the pin holding the chocobo in place while Dorean attempts to intimidate those present into putting down their weapons. The man she is holding, one of the researchers from the Lab, tells them to comply. He calls her D and asks how she found them. He explains that they're working on a project to replicate and refine what they had been working on with D2, hoping to make a super soldier that actually obeyed orders. They are planning on taking the base potions to the east side of town to a location in the sewers, the explosion of Lab One forcing them underground for their operations. The administrative staff and the Doctor escaped alive; everybody thought that none of the test subjects survived. The researcher offers to show them how the serum has progressed, and the three all bite down on something in their mouths, arcs of hexagonal lightning surging as they transform.

Luna's father looks at her smugly, studying her. It's been six years since they last saw each other. She questions whether he really is who he says he is; the look on his face is one of cruelty, confirming his identity to her. He introduces himself as Meneldin. They had received a major contract from the Shard Research League to guard some "eggheads." He offers to let Luna and her friends join for a share of the payout. Luna asks where the other two are, causing him to smile. He offers to tell her where he left them if they come along. She agrees, giving him a kiss on the cheek as instructed, and she and Vera flee the scene. Upon reaching the airship, she locks herself in her room while Vera explains to Talthis what happened.

Introduced

• Researcher
• Meneldin

Returning

• Cecily Cardew
• Suspicious as Heck Raven
• Sapphire
• Alibi
• Hobbes
• Vinter
• Talthis Vim

Mentioned

• Red Prince

• 9 silver
• One of Everything in Life is Pain (28gp by Ward)
• 1 gp 7 sp (Mira, found in couch cushions)