We’ve all been to a lecture like this

The party is attending a lecture while trying to pay attention to a lecture in the room across the corridor, when a riot breaks out. The party is carried away by the crush of people.

It drags us to Free Market Square where we observe Slimy McLawyer-Face offering cash to poor people for their flesh rights. They are surrounded by a ring of Helmed Horrors, facing outward, holding back a larger circle of screaming rioters. While we watch, another taker makes his way through the crowd.

Nobody in the party was completely sure what Ethan wanted us to do. No laws were being broken, and Rusty wasn’t even sure what the issue was. What do you care what happens to your corpse after you die? (Given that resurrection is not possible here). As long as the new rights owners aren’t actively bumping off their clients, it’s all good. Whatever.

Horus is a sneaky bastard

We are interrupted by a Skyrim commoner with a fanny pack, who gives Wit a letter. Ethan tries to give us a clue by saying that the seal was a bit funny, which sends Wit down a whole “booby-trap” rabbit hole. Horus is no longer distracted by rabbit holes, though, and along with Cleetus, corner the delivery guy, and extract a confession from him that he is spying on the mail. Not all the mail - just the mail from the Municipal Records Office. He’s being paid by Dr Anya Krause to report anything unsavory or scandalous about the University to her. We’ve got him over a barrel, and Horus manages to turn the intelligence asset over to our cause, creating a double agent for us. Once what happened is explained to Rusty, he resolves to be much more careful with information security around Horus - that guy is sneakier than he was as a rabbit.

Oh right - the letter. The seal was funky because Mr Skyrim was spying on it. Inside was a blank sheet of paper, which Rusty and Wit instantly recognized as a lemon juice steganographic cipher. Louie was excited to finally be able to use his candle which he’s been carrying around for several years. The letter was from Otto Brenner at the Municipal Records office.

Letter from Otto Brenner

To the attention of the outsiders from the mists,

I’m sorry to reach out this way, but I don’t have any official channel left that feels safe. I’m writing because something strange has been happening in the municipal archives, and it’s getting worse.

For the past three months, several Flesh Rights contracts have shown irregularities that make no sense. These are the legal agreements about what happens to a person’s body after death, but in these cases, seven people have simply disappeared soon after registering them starting with my sister 3 months ago. The paperwork looks fine, the medical approvals seem real, but there are no death records, no remains, and no messages to family. Every time I ask questions, someone higher up shuts me down.

Director Paulsen told me to stop digging, saying it would only “disturb public confidence.” That’s what he called it, anyway. I think we both know things must be worse than he’s letting on.

If you can look into this where I can’t, please do. Be careful who you talk to.

I’ll be in the archives until dusk most days if you want to speak in person. And please keep this letter between us.

Respectfully,
Otto Brenner
Clerk, Municipal Records Office

In the meantime, Louie the small frog is challenged to an arm wrestling contest by a ripped Duergar called GarGar. After the contest was concluded, it was revealed that GarGar was the local arm wrestling champion, but no longer - he was effortlessly crushed by Louie, who was simultaneously poisoning GarGar (no gloves allowed) while wearing a Belt of Storm Giant Strength.

At the Records Office

We proceed to the records office, where we meet Otto. He’s a Rock Gnome, and he proceeds to talk in code at us for a while. Rusty and Wit look at each other and contemplate moving the whole conversation to telepathy, but Ethan is having so much fun they didn’t have the heart.

He walks us through post-mortem contracts, and in the process “accidentally” drops a heap of them on the desk. As he cleans them up, Rusty (who has keen mind!) memorizes them. They are for Josef Richter, Wilhelm Strauss, Kaspar Drelk, Amelia Sturmberg, Rolf Anselm, Cordelia von Frostberg, Andrei Voss, Leopold Sturmwald, Pieter Haas, Dieter Rabenfels, and Clara Brenner. Seven of the named individuals are now deceased, but there is no indication that they were murdered. Even so, a mortality rate of 64% over a matter of months is highly suspicious. Many of the contracts have been witnessed by Professor Gedding, and all of the others were witnessed by University faculty - which is clearly illegal. Analysis of the signatures also indicates that some of the principals were nervous or coerced.

While we are there we purchase a bunch of rights, using some of the writs we have accumulated. Cleetus gets Legal Consultation Services, and Otto can act as a legal representative for him. Louie gets the right to request an audience with the Baron, advanced medical rights, and flesh rights. Horus gets access to research theses at the University, and access to the University laboratories. Rusty gets access to the commercial district, and the right to trade in restricted goods.

Then we head to the university.

This is a really interesting hallway

We’re on our way to the University hospital, and find ourselves wandering past a bunch of offices in a hallway. Before us is a brass plaque with the title “Professor Henrik Volmer” written on it. This is the guy who was holding that lecture, and who definitely isn’t killing his experimental subjects. We try the door, but it is locked. Disillusioned, the party turns away before deciding to check again, and find they were mistaken - the door is unlocked! Rusty looks away innocently.

Now that the door is unlocked, the only member of the party who has the right to legally defend himself - Cleetus - enters the office and looks around. Soon afterward, Rusty and Horus are overcome with frustration and enter too. Louie, Raymond, Gary and Wit remain outside, loitering in the hall.

Inside we find:

A partial map which shows the old sciences building’s easter wing, with instructions to access it through the hospital sub-basement tunnel, third passage past the boiler room. It also notes that there is a ward at the tunnel entrance - the password is “progress” - and an admonition to avoid the main tunnels during evening shift changes.
A student roster with 7 names circled. They are Josef Richter, Clara Brenner, Wilhelm Strauss, Pieter Haas, Andrei Voss, Rolf Anselm, Kaspar Drelk - all the contracts on our suspicious list that were signed by Professor Gedding. That guy is shady as fuck.
Rustinium’s Tome. It is encrypted, but Horus and Rusty race to see who can decrypt it first. Rusty wins, barely.
Professor Volmer’s Personal Research Notebook, Vol 3. Again, encrypted, but this one was simple and Rusty does it in his head. It’s “signed” by Rhevik M Loner, which is an anagram of Henrik Volmer, and not even a tricky one.

We steal both books, and make a copy of the student roster.

Cleetus checks the filing cabinet, and it is locked so he wanders off. A bit later, Rusty checks it and finds it open, so he calls Cleetus back. Inside we find:

All the flesh rights contracts with all 11 experimental subjects: Josef Richter, Clara Brenner, Wilhelm Strauss, Kaspar Drelk, Greta Lühn, Rolf Anselm, Lena Gottschalk, Andrei Voss, Marta Szelenyi, Pieter Haas, and Tobias Merk.
A draft contract to sell a consciousness transfer technique to the Baron for 50,000 Lamode and blanket amnesty.

We steal one of the flesh rights contracts and the draft.

In the meantime, Horus finds a secret drawer in the desk which contains a brass key labelled “Easter Laboratory”, and a vial of red liquid. They are added to the pilfered haul.

While we were in there, a Helmed Horror appears, patrolling the corridor. Wit warns us with time to prepare. Cleetus dives under the desk (easily making his stealth check). Rusty lies down along the corridor wall so he cannot be seen from outside. This works after it is explained to Ethan that Rusty is not large all the time - it is a feature of his armor which takes a bonus action to activate. Normally he is medium. He also makes his stealth check easily.

Horus does not. I lost count of how many advantages and retries he used up, but it was dismal. So, as the Helmed Horror floats into view, he freezes in place, pretending to be an anatomical exhibit. It peers at him, but now it’s not a stealth check, it is a deception check - and Horus can make those. Mollified, it moves on. It asks Louie, Raymond, Wit and Gary if it can help them. They say they are looking for Professor Brenner’s office - could they get directions? The Helmed Horror helpfully points out the correct office and moves on.

We make a note of the frequency of patrols, and get the hell out of dodge 5 minutes before it comes back.

Research Theses - the good stuff

On our way to the hospital, we pass a sign saying “Private Area - Research Theses”. Horus wants to take a look, so Wit forms a permanent telepathic connection with him in case anything happens while he is out of our sight. Inside, he finds a bunch of papers on some awesome shit - a full set of stat raising tomes specific to Lamordia, a way to naturally raise AC, and to gain expertise in a skill. In a moment of stunning inattention, Horus failed to steal any of them. He also found a paper co-authored by Volmer, Geddy and Krause on the theory of consciousness transfer.

There were also records of:

A massive increase in Professor Volmer’s research funding, augmented by an anonymous donor 3 months ago.
An approval for Dr Kellan to switch his research field to Psionics.
An article noting Dr Mordenheim’s expulsion from the University for unethical research 15 years ago. The journalist was Jim Weathers.

Why does this hospital have no roof?

On our way in to the hospital, we come across that same Helmed Horror again. We trick him, for a while, into thinking Horus is a display we are carrying to Professor Gedding. Then we get to the receptionist, and she recognises Horus as “Professor Hopkins” and welcomes him back, and provides directions to Professor Gedding’s office. The same fucking Helmed Horror is assigned to escort us, and he is giving us weird looks. Honestly, how does this happen? Does the University only have funding for one security guy?

Anyway, we get to Professor Gedding’s office, and he mistakes us for a group he was supposed to show around the University. We go on the guided tour, and we find it very interesting, until we are returned to the lobby.

At this moment, Horus has a psychotic break and straight up murders the receptionist, then squares off against the entire Ludendorf constabulary. Then he returns to his original identity and everything is retconned. We get the receptionist to direct us toward the sub-basement tunnels, and head down. I think that goddamn Helmed Horror is still escorting us.