Twice Haroun set out to visit an old church contact; twice thugs got in the way — and when he finally reached the door, the new priest turned him away.
The Question
Who wants Haroun kept away from Sister Alasia — and why?
What We Know (all S4)
- Attempt 1: Haroun alone, jumped by a single thug en route; both backed off after an exchange of blows.
- Attempt 2: whole party, attacked by nine thugs in the market. Ari stabbed one, Farraj electrocuted another, Gnaeus teleported away, the rest ran.
- At the church: a guard fetched Sister Alasia and Father Ignacio — who turned Haroun away at the entrance. The meeting never happened.
- Context: Haroun was Uncle’s agent in Halwa before joining the party; Alasia was one of his contacts. Ignacio is newly arrived and has already angered the Uru clan (Clans of Halwa).
New Evidence (S5)
- Haroun got to her. He disguised himself (successfully, the second time), checked the poor houses Alasia used to frequent, found her at one, waited until she left, and approached her in the street. Her advice: be careful around Father Ignacio. They agreed to meet after the desert trip — and she later summoned him to a church storehouse to introduce him to Madeline Foussard. The blockade was Ignacio’s, not hers.
- The expat community distrusts Ignacio too. People “understood” Sister Alasia; his sermons run to Maker Smite! where hers ran to Maker Protect!, and it is not going over well.
- The gang violence has its own explanation now — leadership changes have Halwa’s clans fighting, and the “unusual” killings of gang leaders during the party’s absence were Madeline, not whoever hired the thugs. That decouples the market ambush from the general body count rather than explaining it.
New Context (GM)
Sister Alasia was Haroun’s love interest during his posting here — a fact he has not shared with the party, and which changes the shape of this mystery. He was not persistently trying to reach a professional contact; he was trying to reach her. Anyone in Halwa who knew their history had a much better predictor of his movements than “eastern agent visits western church.”
She also, per the GM, operates on a line between community leader and gang leader that is “a little fuzzy,” and is pragmatic about smuggling. That widens the suspect list: the thugs may have been aimed at a woman with her own operation, by rivals in it.
Theories
Theory: Someone knew what she is to him
The escalation tracked Haroun’s persistence, not the party’s movements. If the ambushers knew the history, they were not blocking an intelligence contact — they were blocking a man they knew would keep coming. That implies a source who knew him during the posting. (GM)
Theory: The church connection is the target
The escalation (1 thug → 9 thugs) tracked Haroun’s persistence in reaching Alasia specifically. Either someone is protecting her, silencing her, or watching who comes for her. Ignacio’s gatekeeping may be the same effort by politer means — or an unrelated priest being territorial.
Theory: The party was made on arrival
A ship’s captain paid extra to carry an elf, a party asking after guides to the desert, visits to Uncle’s Factor — in a smuggler’s town, word travels. The ambushes may be about the party and its mission, not Alasia at all. If so, the Folly expedition was watched too.
Next Steps
-
Find another channel to Sister Alasia— done (S5): caught her in the street away from the church; she now initiates contact herself - Identify the thugs — clan muscle, church hires, or freelance? Still open
- Ask Achmed who’s been asking about the party
- Ask Alasia why she warned him about Ignacio — she knows something specific and Haroun didn’t press
- Ask Alasia how she knows Madeline — she introduced her as an “old friend” (GM), which for a woman imprisoned seven years is a strange word
- Decide whether the non-interrogation pact still holds now that she’s the party’s only channel to Madeline
- Ask Madeline whether the western church knew she was in the Folly’s cellar, and who else has been asking after Constanza in Halwa