This week's session was more focused than last weeks, and more centered on the main plot. Good things happening. We also saw our first use of player-controlled NPCs, which I enjoy and we should encourage when interesting. 

_A Council of Treachery_
The company was convened to discuss the coming Dindavaran visit, their musical plans, and how best to stop the Performers, who were known to be building a new stage to steal the Dindavaran attention and establish themselves as legitimate. Gradually, a scheme emerged: the Performers' new theater cum warehouse was to be burned, and then they would be cordially invited to share the "real" stage with the Musicians. Ardl used Mino to gain access to a copy of the script that they would be using, and began to memorize it. Meanwhile, Rugo began work on his latest inspiration- musical interstitials of a kind never seen before.

_Poisoning is Hard Work_
Ardl and Tulia met with Drake, the turncoat from their guild, and his new patron, the fat and hedonistic Traffickers guild senator Derik. Drake bragged about his upcoming starring role with the Performers, and at Ardl's urging, Tulia carried out their dastardly plan to poison Drake with a long-lasting paralytic-- which Derik attributed to Drake's burgeoning drug habits. Meanwhile, Rugo obtained the stolen script and began rewriting it, as to not taint his theater.

_This Evening's Show Was Magical_
To welcome the crowds arriving for the Dindavaran visit (and to give themselves a chance to make use of Rugo's powerful enhancement magic), the company stages a small street play, a comedic opera of exaggerated proportion. The show goes well, and so does that magic, preparing them for their raid on the warehouse that evening. Hulcion gives a puppet show afterwards, trying to tempt local street children to give up any information on his father's captivity. Hulcion doesn't get much information, but he *does* get the attention of a large Truil named Eguh, who is accompanied by Heddressa, an actress of the Performers Guild. Eguh likes Hulcion, and is amazed at his size, and declares that Hulcion and him shall wrestle!

_The Chronicles of Turblad_
With Tulia leading the stealthy way, she, Hulcion, Rugo, and a Musician's guildsman named Turblad make their way to the Performer's Theater/warehouse. They discover that the back is mostly empty, and catch sight of a wary, winged guardian in a rooftop nest. Hulcion's perfect throwing skills send a rock to dispatch the guard, and after some debate, Tulia wings her way to the roof to drop a lit torch into the ceiling fibers. Turblad, dedicated guildsman he is, decides that the odds of success are far too low, and sneaks into the building to lit more of the curtains, flooring, and anything else he can on fire. While lighting the rafters on fire, he is discovered by Hedressa, who speaks a foul incantation and sends a bolt of lightning to fry him to a crisp. Nevertheless, Turblad and the company are successful, and the warehouse burns.

_Sleeping with the Flowers_
Meanwhile, Ardl has wasted no time seducing Nina and winds up in her bedchamber. The news arrives of the fire, and Nina almost forgets to get a white powder for Ardl, which relieves the strange burning he began to feel after their intimacy. Nina seems quite smitten, and turns to Ardl for consolation when she discovers that her younger brother, a playwright, died in the fire. Ardl manages to calm her and convince her to use the Musician's stage. The plan, as it were, went
off without a hitch.

_The Big Show!_
The day of the arrival of the first Dindavaran Ambassador comes, and the company greets the wizened Ambassador Yifan, who confesses he dislikes acting and music. Nevertheless, his rebellious son, Danzi, wishes to see it, so he is humoring him. Yifan asks, privately, that the company help his elite Stoneheart Guardians to keep Danzi out of trouble. Meanwhile, the devious scheming comes together as Ardl and Rugo arrange to steal the lead for Ardl, change the play to Rugo's satisfaction, and make sure that the paralyzed Drake has a good seat to watch it all happen. The play and the interstitials are a smashing success-- so much so that Yifan actually admits to liking it. Drake bubbles with impotent rage, Nina is left speechless, and the whole town sees the Performers acting under the banner of the Musician's Guild. All is well.

_Or Is It?_
As the crowd disperses and the fanfare dies away, Tulia comes running up with urgent news: Danzi attacked her and tried to escape, and in the ensuing fight, she killed one of the Stoneheart Guardians. Now, Danzi is on the loose in the city. And so is the unknown assailant who has been cutting heads from bodies with magically sharpened paper. Are they one and the same? What will the Cultivators think? And Yifan is only the first Ambassador... Rugo's work on his Masterwork must not be interrupted!