Assault at the Arcanist Guild

Today I had another message from Baderon - I was asked for at Mealvaan's Gate. Commodore Sthalmann had mentioned I go there if anything unusual happened while I was guarding Sisipu. I wondered what the connection was - I decided to go check it out. As I made my way through town I learned Mealvaan's Gate was also the Arcanist's Guild and Baderon referred to them as scholars - and clearly they functioned as a sort of Customs Office for the port as it was nestled snugly along the ferry dock.

Mealvaan's Gate - The Arcanist's Guild

The miqo'te at the front desk called over another miqo'te named J'arhll. She was very direct. This was about that damned firearm I held back at the aptitude test over in Coral Tower. (Uh oh). I explained the entire situation to her - it took me a while to remember the name of the man at the test - but I believe it was Sergeant Mannskoen. Yes, I'm sure it was. While she considered this - an explosion rocked the entire building!

Captain Rhoswen came in and fired a shot - demanding Emerick be turned over to her. The Sanguine Sirens right behind her. I saw Merodaulyn among her crew.  I slipped past the pirates in the lobby and made my way downstairs to see what was going on. Although I was outnumbered and possibly out-matched, I was oddly not afraid. I reached the bottom of the stairs and was surprised (yet again) to see Y'shtola standing there. Though, she was also looking for Emerick so I shouldn't have been too surprised. I thought the Commodore had mentioned no one would find him where the Knights had hidden him. Apparently not.

She vented her frustration to me and asked if we should stand our ground. I didn't think it was a good idea given the odds - so she told me she may know an alternative way out of the situation. As I followed after her, we were stopped short by J'arhll who seemed to recognize Y'shtola. Y'shtola asked about Emerick and J'arhll seemed sincere when she explained she had no idea why everyone thought he was there. She did admit that she had slipped away to ensure the safety of the artifact recovered from Seal Rock - and showed us some kind of tablet. Y'shtola seemed familiar with the language written upon it - to my surprise she read it as if fluent in this ancient language.

"And fain to suffer fell grammaryes; Wherewith to loose o'erreaching seas..." is what she said but it holds no special meaning to me. She then said the oddest thing yet - "They'll use the key to call forth an army." J'arrhll asked her if she would translate the entire tablet - but the circumstances weren't exactly ideal (what with pirates ransacking the building).

Y'shtola and I rushed back upstairs where she quickly incapacitated a guard - then dodged Rhoswen's bullets! The Knights appeared to be arriving on the scene as well. Before this confrontation between Rhoswen and Y'shtola could play out - Rhoswen ordered the retreat of her crew. Y'shtola excused herself before the Knights arrived - and J'arrhll dismissed me saying she'd review my story with the Knights at Coral Tower.

I guess this investigation hadn't been forgotten after all - but at least the people at Mealvaan's Gate were listening to reason - and after such excitement. For a while, I thought I just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time but now I'm starting to wonder if these Barracuda and pirate shenanigans are happening all over the city at all times. I would no longer be surprised by this.

PS:   I apologize for lack of photos of these pirates. I fear any evidence I provided of who was involved would result in an unpleasant visit from Captain Rhoswen and her crew.