So after getting past the sand-wind room we were greeted by a large door. No traps though, Rath said we just needed to pour some essence into the door. Given how much essence we blew already getting here, we rested and gathered our strength for a short while before channeling energy into the door.

Inside was Merela's coffin. She was clad in ornate orichalcum plate, with a orichalcum grand daiklaive at her side and a powerful crown that seemed to grab Rath's attention on her head. There was also another glass golem guardian, but it seemed to pay us no heed. Until I started messing with the essence flows to redirect the energy powering my hearthstones, so that they would be powered by this manse. Luckily we were recharged, so we made short work of it. It began to reform, but the others kept it from getting back together while I performed the ritual. After my hearthstones were redirected, the others said it seemed a waste to not attune to this manse while I was here, so we stayed a little while longer to do that.

Like I said, Rath detected that the Crown on Merela's head was quite powerful, and that it might prove most useful in our upcoming trials. But in order to get into the coffin to get it, we needed to slowly drag it all the way back out of the inner tomb, so we did. We got the crown, but had no need for the weapon or armor. So we put her back into the inner sanctum.

As we left, we could sense a presence watching us from the sky, a large bird that wasn't natural. Az carried me up within range and I shot at it, but then it flew away.

With the manse stuff done, I went to look for my former incarnation's dragon king assassin's guild. We blundered about for hours, constantly followed by weird creatures of black fur with white stripes. Eventually, a guy came up to Az and said to meet him at this underground dive bar for information.

So we did, it was an open platform in the middle of some water, kinda dirty looking. The guy claimed he worked for a self appointed guardian of the city, and wanted to know our intentions. We told him we were seeking allies in the coming war, and also if they had any information on my former assassin brethren. I wracked my memories for any keywords I could think of, including the Hall of Midnight Mirror.

Eventually his master showed up, jumping out of the water, turning from fish to large man. His name was Moon's First Shadow and he protected the city. We told him about the invasion of Hell and how we hoped we could count him as an ally in the coming war. He told us where I could find the dragon king assassins, and once he verified our story, he would join our cause.

We headed to the lair where my former allies supposedly were. I put on the crown to help with the negotiations, as apparently it enhances the wearer's presence, giving them a commanding aura. I ended up tripping a trap, but it wasn't too big a deal, we weren't hurt. As we made our way in, we were attacked by the shadows, but after whether the initial attack, I said we were here to talk.

I introduced myself as the current incarnation of the former head of the guild, and announced my intention to rebuild it to its former glory and how together we would once again ply our trade against the incoming invasion. They seemed receptive, but needed us to reclaim their former home, the Radiant Obsidian Basilica from some Plague Lords. So we head off to take care of that.