A building collapsing in a city such as Absalom attracted the attention of many. The Absalom Watch was the first group to arrive, as the nearby nighttime patrols heard the explosion and came running. Finding the Minkan embassy ruins on fire, the Watch called in the fire brigade. Meanwhile, the Watch set up a perimeter to keep away any gawkers and potential looters.
Shortly after, the First Guard, the elite military force dedicated to protecting Absalom from threats both domestic and foreign, arrived on the scene to investigate. Finding no immediate clues as to who was responsible for the embassy’s destruction, they stayed on to assist the fire brigade, which was just arriving.
Fortunately, the fire brigade employed several trained clerics, and a few well-placed quench spells put out the flames almost immediately. The fires extinguished and the ruins brought down to a tolerable temperature, teams from the First Guard commenced the search through the rubble. On finding little more than ashes, stones, and the occasional unmelted item made of iron, steel, copper, or bronze, the First Guard concluded that there could have been no survivors, the dead were burned beyond recognition and could not be identified, an investigation would be ongoing, and a messenger would be sent to the Minkai Empire posthaste with the sad news.
Meanwhile, Mistress Dusklight, ringmaster of the Celestial Menagerie, the most famous circus in the Inner Sea, had been in town on the hunt for older children whom she could purchase from the orphanage or any vagrants who looked like they could be of use to her circus. She would weave her charms on her targets and bring them back to replace the ranks who had left on their own or mysteriously “disappeared” altogether. Spending the night at a building down the street from the embassy belonging to one of Dusklight’s business associates, she and her carny press gang were awoken by the fireball attack on the embassy. Peering through the window, she saw the city’s response to the emergency and waited for the first responders to leave.
Under the cover of darkness, Mistress Dusklight and her orc press gang cautiously stepped through the deserted ruins of the Minkan embassy, in the hopes of finding an injured survivor or two to spirit away.
Handsome Frankie, a hideous orc clown even more hideous out of his face paint, pulled away some wreckage that was blocking the stairs to the basement. Iron beams and stone had prevented the basement from collapsing entirely. Frankie indicated to his cohorts that this would be a good place to search. Three of the strongest orcs and Frankie carefully filed down the stairs, moving debris as necessary, to find one fully collapsed hallway on the left and a partially crushed metal door leading to the kitchen. On examining the door, Frankie heard movement from within and a soft voice crying “Help me!”
“Mistress, down here!” Frankie hollered up the stairwell as he wrenched the door from its hinges.
Stepping down the shattered stairs, Dusklight rounded the corner and peered into the shadows. “What’s this?” she purred in her least threatening tone of voice. With her catfolk eyes easily seeing everything in the basement’s low light, she spotted a young kitsune girl with red-and-white fur, a head of red hair, and green eyes. She was smudged with dirt and her formerly pristine green and brown raiments were torn to rags. The girl looked up at Mistress Dusklight, frightened by her sudden appearance with the burly orcs. “What is your name, little one?” Dusklight asked gently.
“Mi-Midori,” The girl answered.
“Hello, Midori. I am Mistress Dusklight of the Celestial Menagerie,” Dusklight introduced herself. A cruel, predatory grin crossed her face. “Welcome to the family.”