*29 November, 847 IE - Charterhall* [[Cam]] returns to the [[Ink & Anvil]] and notes that she is being tailed by three toughs. When she arrives, she gets a briefing from the rest of the [[Old Town Echoes|Echoes]] about what has transpired. After some discussion, they decide to pursue Professor Lancaster in the hopes that they may be able to pin the poisoning on the [[Reclaimer's Circle]]. The crew travels across the district to Charterhall University. [[Watcher]] and [[Freakshow]] keep watch outside while [[Wolf]] and [[Crow]] check in the administration building and [[Nyx]] and [[Cam]] check the Sparkwright Tower. In the administration offices, Wolf and Crow learn that Lancaster hasn't been seen for several days and has missed some of his classes. The assistant reveals that an Inspector and an Iruvian have both called asking after the professor. With some prodding by Wolf, she finally reveals that Lancaster's office and lab are on the 10th floor of Sparkwright Tower. Nyx and Cam attempt to use an elevator in Sparkwright Tower, but its use is limited to holders of keys and there are too many witnesses to pick the lock. Finally, an irritated professor drives them from the building, but not before Nyx lifts a pocket watch from him. Meanwhile, Watcher notices one of their tails watching them and approaches him. Watcher learns that it would take a lot of coin, maybe "fifteen or more" to convince Professor Venn to call off the war between the Circle and the Echoes. Watcher probes whether there are any chinks in the man's loyalties, but he remains steadfast. The crew returns to their lair to determine next steps. They eventually decide to travel via their underground maps to the university administration building to get more info on Lancaster and from there perhaps infiltrate the tower and check out his office. The crew arrives in the basement of the administration offices without difficulty, but they are hampered by a worker in an office on the main floor working late. They eventually sneak to the main floor and into the records room, where they find the university's personnel records and a sizable safe. In short order, they find Lancaster's record and record his home address (an apartment in a Charterhall brownstone nearby) and that the man lives alone and has had a long, but somewhat unremarkable career as a bio-chemist. Never letting an opportunity pass, the crew breaks into the safe and finds the weekly payroll for the university staff, totaling twenty coin. Instead of continuing their raid to the tower, the crew decides to loot the safe and return to their hideout. On their way out, Freakshow leaves behind a challenge coin commonly used by the Reclaimer's Circle in an attempt to divert blame for the theft. [[2026-02-07 - merged-session-transcript|Chatlog]] ![[Screenshot 2026-02-07 171943.png]]