Runs Free, Francis, Darla, Maxi the Tabaxi, Hyperion and Gwansora attended the Cat Castle Masquerade.
Our heroes found themselves on an unusually fine day in the Golden Cockerel - thanks to the largesse of the Duke, grace of his upcoming wedding. The food has been good these past weeks, the wine has been punchy and everyone has generally been enjoying themselves until this courier drops a package in front of Francis saying that this was to be published in the local newspaper.
Francis on opening it finds a note that says, by the time you read this it will be too late, I will be the Duchess of Catcastle and my guards will be on their way to fling you into my cells. The signature below it is Saetha, soon to be Duchess Catcastle. This puzzled and alarmed our companions for as best they knew they had no reason for Saetha, someone they had twice fought dragons alongside - in Treasure of the Bigat and Bride of the Bigat - to dislike them and also as best they knew the person getting married to the Duke was the Comptess de Rigilie, not Saetha at all.
A little bit of poking around outside finds a poster where there is a relatively crude woodcut that, if squinted at, could be indeed the figure of Saetha set beside the Duke in the announcements. Our heroes decide that they need to perhaps interfere with this wedding or at least stop Saetha getting married because they rapidly become convinced that she is masquerading as the Comptess de Rigilie to inveigle herself into the Duke’s arms. Cat Castle is locked down tightly except for a single opportunity - the grand masquerade before the wedding.
Asking around they figure that they know at least one friendly noble in Alermo de Rocaspera, the dragon slayer they have crossed paths with on multiple occasions - surely they have a masquerade invitation.
The heroes set out in different directions, gathering information before reconvening the following evening, having established that: Alermo is in residence at the Ordained Octopus, there is a manor for the de Rigillie somewhere in the town and the masquerade invitations were printed at a local printworks.
Chasing up Alermo they get a friendly welcome and with minimum convincing he hands them a copy of a masquerade invitation that Francis and Runs Free then use the local printing press to run up more pristine copies .
Meanwhile the others of the party go to household de Rigilie, some going in through the front door to act as diversion, while others infiltrate around the heavily ivied walls at the back. After very little time, it becomes obvious that the de Rigilie are a household of serpent folk, ancient and proud, with a great portrait of the Countess de Rigilie sitting on the staircase indicating that she is, in fact, also clearly a serpentfolk, and therefore the person in the photo in the handbills being portrayed as betrothed of the Duke cannot be the Comptess.
The cat-burglaring duo effect entry into the top floor, finding many rooms heated to an uncomfortable degree, and find the Contessa wrapped in fine silks and embroidery, reading a great book before her, heat-radiating sunstone. After convincing her they mean no harm, they attempt to bring the Contessa out to defend her name and chase off this imposter, before a lightning-genassi Majordomo intercepts them. They get some bad vibes, but it ends in a stalemate, with the Contessa insisting she will go to the masquerade, and the Majordomo having the player-characters ejected into the street.
With a little to-ing and fro-ing, a day is spent making costumes, and Alermo is requested to escort the Contessa to the masquerade to make sure that nothing untoward happens to her at the hands of the Majordomo. Our heroes follow shortly thereafter, and because they are not attempting to bring their fine wagon to the masquerade, they manage to skip the queue of quite a lot of the nobles and end up finding themselves in the masquerade.
Some running around and attempting to ascertain what is going within the masquerade on identifies that there is a large contingent of the household of the Duke and some other contingent much like our heroes dressed in costumes that are more elaborate than expensively manufactured. There’s a couple of attempted pickpocketing of the riches on display, and a watch laid over the Contessa and her hanging moon float then leads to a confrontation where the timely intervention of the players leads to the Contessa’s manservants being able to overrun those attempting to block her passage, drawing the attention of the entire ball, including the Duke and all those involved in this plot, including Setha.
With the Contessa asserting her identity and rights, Saetha realises the gig is up, attempts to teleport away, but Francis hold persons her in a lightning spell quick-draw contest. Restrained, Saetha is dragooned to the dungeons, and the Duke expresses his appreciation for their assistance before cancelling the nuptials. Our heroes make off with some filchings and other minor rewards, but also the gratitude of the Duke, which significantly reduces most people’s bounties
Everyone got paid by the Duke and an some extra cash was found by fencing valuables pick-pocketed from the masquerade guests. The Duke sent perishables from the cancelled wedding feast to re-provision the Golden Cockerel and make sure Fluffy is fed. In addition everyone had the 100gp worth of bounties against them pardoned.