Eventually the trio makes its way back to their home in the Crafts District and are able to unwind after the previous days’ madness.
That night the Troupe is sleeping soundly in their rooms when all are awoken by a thump of air on their faces, as if struck by an invisible feather pillow. Thus awakened, it is clear that there are intruders in the house.
Magnus is the first to react, but in his haste to don his armor, gets tangled in its straps and falls to the floor. Mar’Khabazza draws Hasp and Thorn and engages the intruders, making quick work of one and wounds another and in the face of his cold steel the remaining two turn to flee out the front door. Ravenna is roused groggily from her stupor and is slow to react but is quick enough to cast a sleep charm, causing the remaining two to fall unconscious outside.
Magnus and Mar’Khabazza drag the two figures back into the house bore they are spotted and there is some debate about what to do with the survivors until Magnus points out that Ravenna used magic and letting them go would ruin the ruse and expose the Alchemist’s potion as a fraud. To make her look more innocent, Ravenna begins to drink heavily and passes out so the story is that she was drunk and missed the whole thing. Magnus searches the corpses removing the hoods to reveal an anonymous miner, the old woman from the steps of the guard house, and Morley Bates – scion of the Merchant House of Bates and friend to Kyle.
Mar’Khabazza stabs them to make it look like they died in combat, replace their hoods and then they call the city watch. Within moments a squad of soldiers arrives and Mar’Khabazza is quick to point out that three slain were in fact slain by individuals defending their home. The guards take the statements and remove the hoods from the corpses and are shocked to reveal Morley Bates, one of Kyle’s friends. The guards then call a coroner who removes the corpses and ask them to come face the Justiciar in Court to account for their deeds.
Hours later the three stand in the courtroom for the second time in two days. Justiciar Mariel Trueheart is presiding and finds them blameless in defense of their home, “but I caution you that Lord Bates will bear you ill-will in the death of his son, how righteous the deed may be in the eyes of the law.”
Once again returning to their house, they discover that there are no signs of violence in the house and the bloodstains on the floor are completely gone, removed as though they never existed.
Mar’Khabazza is panicked by the signs of ill-omen, but Magnus is comforted that, “something woke them all up last night. Maybe Mar’Khabazza’s refused offering to the spirits actually haunted this place instead.”