The session opens with the party aboard the Sloop Dogg in the city of Gorgon, Nepal, discussing the various leads they gathered the previous day. The Dungeon Master clarifies a list of active rumors circulating in the city:

• The Stolen Cloak: A black cloak was stolen from a patron at the Burnt Bridge Tavern. The owner is offering an unusually high reward of 10 platinum.
• The Ornate Casket: Ditch diggers near the shrine of Marvela unearthed a mysterious tin casket they cannot open.
• Hobgoblin Tunnels: Rumors persist of hobgoblins tunneling under the city a year ago, an event suppressed by the Black Guard.
• The Slavers: A merchant named Samira Zagant is seeking his son, who was sold to Manchurian slavers.
• Missing Vagrants: Homeless populations are disappearing, and large, unusual dung droppings have been found across the city, corroborating the Neolithid rumor.
• Political Fervor: The local Church of Jasiri is distributing pamphlets calling for the conquest of the Bengal Isles, accusing their Emperor of worshipping the demon Nekoda.

Following a vote, the party decides to prioritize the stolen cloak due to its proximity and high payout, though they plan to research the Neolithid later in the day.

At dawn, the exotic carcass dealer Georgie Hristo arrives with a crew of laborers to retrieve the Dragon Turtle shell. While the shell is being moved, Mickle attempts to fly his new Broom of Flying. Due to poor coordination (and a series of low rolls), the broom shoots out of his hand and sails onto the deck of a neighboring ship, leaving him grounded and embarrassed.

After paying the 20 gold daily docking fee, the party seeks directions from the City Watch, who describe the Burnt Bridge Tavern as being located in a blue-collar factory district across town.

The party arrives at the tavern, which has been largely avoided by locals lately because of a disgruntled patron who has been “flipping out” for three days. Blu consumes several bottles of “Triple X” grain alcohol, becoming significantly intoxicated before the party heads upstairs to investigate.

In Room 3, they kick open the door to find a disheveled human man who is stark naked and highly agitated. After a tense interaction where he nearly grabs Amnon, he reveals his story: five nights ago, he was drugged and mugged during a high-stakes card game. He lost 800 gold and a “sentimental” black cloak.

The man describes four players from the game:

1. A **Tiefling** with a thick African accent and poor gambling skills.
2. A **Dragonborn** who was quiet and difficult to read.
3. Two local laborers covered in silt or clay, one of whom is a human with two different colored eyes (one green, one brown).

The bartender directs the party to a flower shop at the end of the block that doubles as an illegal bookie joint. Inside, they meet a Goliath bookie named Ricky. To gain Ricky's favor, the party pays 5 gold to place a 10-to-1 bet on an ostrich named Thunder Thighs for the 3:00 PM race.

While the party is in the shop, Grundel inquires about underground brawls. Ricky leads him to a back room where Grundel spots the man with the one green eye counting money. Grundel signs up for a main event fight at 10:00 PM against a woman named Sheila.

The party travels to the racetrack, where Mickle sneaks into the rafters and dopes Thunder Thighs with a Potion of Swiftness via a dart. The ostrich wins “by a beak,” netting the party 50 gold, though Blu loses 91 gold on side bets he placed while drunk.

Before the fights, the party takes an aerial trolley to a Bestiary to research the Neolithid. The keeper describes the creature as an ancient, psychic “mutated earthworm” from the time of the Meteor strike. He warns that they are masters of the mind and suggests that hunting one in the sewers or rail tunnels would require massive amounts of incapacitating drugs.

Returning to the warehouse for the fights, the party discovers the ring is surrounded by a powerful anti-magic/counterspell field.

• Blu wins his welterweight fight by knockout.
• Amnon is knocked unconscious by a massive opponent.
• Drathus wins his match against a clean-cut human fighter.

The session concludes as Grundel enters the main ring for his fight against Sheila, a massive half-orc woman. As he rages, he makes eye contact with the man with one green eye who is watching from the crowd.