*14-28 November, 847 IE - Charterhall* The [[Old Town Echoes]] began this stretch of days in motion, slipping away from their first score before the consequences could fully catch up with them. Their escape through the sewers beneath Crow’s Foot was tense but effective. The [[Reclaimer's Circle]] knew something had been taken, but not by whom, and certainly not how. By the time the Echoes resurfaced and returned to their hidden lair, the trail had gone cold. The job brought in a modest haul, split evenly among the crew, and earned them a noticeable bump in reputation—stealing from a higher-tier faction tends to echo, even when no alarms are raised. For once, there was no heat. What the crew carried home with them mattered far more than the coin. The statue they had stolen revealed itself to house a ghost calling herself [[Mistress Ash]]. Over the following days, investigation and research began to put a name and a history to that voice. Public records confirmed that Ash was almost certainly Lady Gellena Ash of Bright Harbor, an Iruvian noblewoman of considerable talent: a sparkcraft artificer, a whisper, and the wife of an imperial governor. She and her family were assassinated roughly eighty years ago, the crime never solved. The possibility emerged that Ash may have bound herself into the statue as a final act of desperation or foresight, but Ash herself remembers neither her death nor her imprisonment. Large gaps remain in her memory, and whatever she truly knows—or once knew—lies buried behind them. The Echoes barely had time to absorb this revelation before outside pressures began to close in. [[Locket]] arrived as an emissary of the [[Glasskeys]]. Locket made it clear that this visit could have been worse, the "The Professor", the head of the Circle had beseeched [[Perrin Dask]] to intervene on their behalf, but the Glasskeys are choosing to stay out of the squabbles of the minor gangs, noting that they are "a form of natural selection". When asked about work, Locket offered up an opportunity. A chemist and professor at Charterhall University named Cyril Lancaster had developed a poison that would stay undetected in the victim's system for a week before killing them suddenly, and he was using it to blackmail powerful figures. The Glasskeys wanted the problem dealt with quietly and decisively. Locket offered four coin for making Professor Lancaster go away, and offered bonuses if his poisons, antidotes, recipes, or list of targets were found. As the crew tried to regain their footing and plan their next steps, the past struck back directly. [[Quellyn]], a witch and a personal contact of [[Crow]], staggered into the Ink & Anvil - battered, bandaged, and shaken. Her shop had been trashed, and she herself beaten nearly senseless. [[Malus Thorne]], acting for the Reclaimer Circle, had delivered the punishment personally. His instructions were blunt and unmistakable: this was retaliation, and it was only the beginning. The Reclaimers were no longer circling in the dark. They had chosen war. [[2026-01-24 - merged-session-transcript|Chatlog]] ![[2026-01-24 - Edinburgh Session 2.png]]