The PCs decide to investigate the Rimerunner’s Guild. After staking it out from a nearby tavern throughout the day, they infiltrate at night through the back door by using a silence stone and some lockpicking skill by Cusp. Inside, they defeat the six guards after a tumultuous fight (killing three and capturing three), and also succeed in preventing the guards from raising the alarm by signal log. They find Uksahkka, and, unable to open it there, wrestle an iron lockbox out of its secret room. They hire a horse and cart from the Hunting Serpent Inn, and using bedclothes from the guard barracks, transport the lockbox and three prisoners to Fynn Snaevald’s house (leaving the dead bodies of the other three guards in the secret room).
Fynn agrees to help, securing the prisoners in a strongroom and employing a dwarven contact to open the safe. Cusp and Fynn study the business records while the others rest and determine the details of the Rimerunners involvement and the location of Ravenscraeg.
The next day, the PCs set out to Ravenscraeg. The have a little trouble with a splitting ochre jelly before arriving at the wooden stair that climbs the cliff to the hall. As they ascend, they deal with the spider eater quite easily, but then run into real problems with the tengu ninjas who use their poison and vanish ability to lethal effect. Tragically, Cusp is slain after having been flanked and subjected to deathblade poison. The party retreats from the site once they defeat the ninjas to seek divine aid for their fallen comrade. Using a magical disguise, Dreki enters the city and retrieves the Amatatsu from the caravan, which is distraught upon hearing the news, and returns to the party’s temporary camp outside. After being placed upon Cusp’s chest for a few seconds, the Seal begins to emit transparent ribbons of minkaian characters and arcane and divine runes which wrap the gnome’s body and impress upon his flesh; the runes and characters glowing on his skin before fading as he awoke from death.