7. Seven Suns

As they descend the stairs, Stella fumes, unable to stop herself from thinking about the horrible things the shapechanger had done and threatened to do. She was starting to understand Dieter's viewpoint a bit more. The anger called her to move, to act. And that was useful. Mama had similar primal ferocity. But it also hurt to hate so much. She grips her staff of fire tighter.
Aiwë's humming pierces through her rage, echoing in her mind, affected Stella more strongly than Aiwë had probably intended.

Her eye-stars suddenly dim and flicker to their neutral violet and her grip on her staff loosens so much it nearly slips from her fingers. Her mind goes back to the calm numbness she felt in the Cloakwood, in...the Shadowfell. Such a painless contrast from moments before.

She follows Dieter on instinct alone, nearly forgetting what they were doing.

When Aiwë casts Detect Thoughts, she blinks and shakes her head, the numbness suddenly gone. She remains calm, but a weight pulling down at her insides and her eye-stars shift from slightly from violet to indigo as her mind lingers on the sensation. Or lack thereof, rather.
Stella jolts to attention, eye-stars sparking to a shocked icy blue as she raises her staff.

"Helm guide us!" Dieter yells to strengthen the fists, he didn’t share their belief but he will share in their struggle.

Following her training exercises she has been doing in the evenings, Stella quickly traces out the constellation of a polar bear in lines of light, and similar lines of light appear in the air in front of the creatures, though much larger.

In a flash, a polar bear stands in front of them, biting one in the leg. It tries to tear into its prey with claws, but the doppelganger escapes, backing away just in time.
(Doppelganger 1 takes 10 damage.)

She retreats backwards through the door they entered from, eyes cold. As she does, her body transforms into icy-blue stars and she fires a shot before ducking through the door, but misses, the radiant arrow striking and splintering the wall behind the enemy line.

Stella (37/37 HP, 17 AC or 19 w/ half cover from doorway)
Barry (42 HP, 12 AC; front lines)

Possible Reaction: If any of the enemies are forced to make a save, Stella will use her last Cosmic Omen to give the first one -1d6.

Aiwë casts Bane on doppelgängers 1 through 3 and they all FAIL

Jhasso's impressed as well. "While captive I felt that Scar had abandoned me, but it seems he was waiting to send the best!"

The firbolg toes one of the doppelganger corpses, none too gently. "The Hells take these monsters. They stole the faces and lives of good men and women. But why? Why would they - or anyone - target the Seven Suns?"

"What do you do here, exactly?" Aiwë asks as she unties the now-vetted workers. "We're not from here."

Dieter twists his blade in a downed Dopplegabger’s back with a sickening crunch.

"Money, food, sport. Take your pick."

Stella shakes her head. "The Iron Throne has no shortage of money, and while I'm sure these shapechangers had their own reasons, there must another reason they were sent to undermine here..."

Jhasso winces at Dieter's brutal display. "We're a merchants' guild. We oversee and facilitate trade, keep an eye on market rates, hold merchants to ideal standards of quality for their wares. We also function as a entrepreneurial bank of sorts, giving out loans to help merchants start or expand their businesses."

He frowns. "The Iron Crisis has had terrible impacts on everything. I heard they've found a cure for whatever's been affecting the iron, but it'll still take years for the economy to recover. Before the doppelgangers struck, we were reaching out to other guilds and trying to see what could be done to keep business from failing entirely. With rumors of war with Amn, the Gate needs to be strong. Or at least appear so." He shakes his hairy head. "I hate to think what's become of negotiations since those monsters took over.

"I manage a team of professionals focused in developing and fulfilling Client interests in an ever changing high speed environment using magical and mundane assets to exceed expectations." Dieter says back pulling his sword out of the doppelgänger to emphasize his point.

"These doppelgängers, or whoever they works for, want war. Crippling your efforts or taking direct opposite action will help them." Aiwë folds her arms. "Do you work with the Iron Throne?"

"Should we go back up to your office?" Dieter asks Jhasso

Jhasso pales. "They actually want a war? What does the Iron Throne have to do with it? I suppose they'd stand to make a fortune if they could somehow sell weapons and armor in the middle of this iron shortage. But to do that, they'd need their own source of iron, which..." Reading the party's faces, Jhasso blinks. "Oh. They've got some source, don't they?"

The firbolg's ears droop in a crestfallen manner, then perk up suddenly. "But if the Iron Throne's behind these doppelgangers, then they're to blame! My business, my employees, my friends..." His lips peel back in a snarl. "This makes it all the more important that Baldur's Gate's economy holds together."

Jhasso looks at the companions with a new perspective. "You've been following the Throne's machinations for some time, haven't you? I bet you're the group who liberated the Nashkel mine." He strokes his furry head with one hand. "Have you found any solid proof that the Iron Throne's involved? Have you informed the Grand Dukes?"

"Look, if nothing else, the fact you were captured and so roughed up says you're probably trustworthy, but those 'gangers read minds. Sharing more information will probably make you a target worth coming back for." Aiwë pats Jhasso's arm.

"Scar is handling it. He knows what needs to be done, and when it's finished, the whole of the Gate will hear about it. Maybe the whole Coast." She begins cleaning her hammer and shield.

"In the meantime, do you have any helpful intel at all you can share with us? We can handle targets on our backs." She grins tuskily. "If you don't trust us, you'd better get it to Scar sooner rather than later. It's a bit of a race, I think."

Stella stays quiet through the discussion, partially because she trusted Aiwë's judgement and partially because of the unusual dullness that lingered in her from Awie's Calm Emotions spell.

She glances down at her bag of holding, the one with the iron ingots in it. It might not be much, but it could be something to contribute towards keeping these merchants guilds afloat for just a bit longer. She'd run the idea by Scar.

As the idea of memory-stealing doppelgangers ruminated in her mind, however, she felt sick to her stomach...Anyone could be compromised. They'd have to be extra cognizant of the tell-tale signs they already noticed: eyelids closing the wrong way and talking about people like they were food. But surely some shapechangers were more skilled than others...

And just when I was finally starting to get over myself about assassins... she thinks, unconsciously glancing around nervously.

Aiwë looks at Stella suddenly, remembering with a jolt how strange it was that Aldous hadn't returned from his meeting with his father. "Officers, can you escort Jhasso to meet with Scar? We have other business to attend to." She takes Stella and Dieter's arms and wheels them out of the office.

"We need to check on our host now," she hisses.

Host... Stella furrows her brow and blinks. Then her eyes suddenly widen, and her eye-stars turn an icy blue. She nods and rushes to where they left their horses.