Blueleaf S01E03: High Society
Dox and Stonks attended a high-society occult gathering hosted by the Diamond Club, a secretive group of wealthy occultists who collect relics.
Stonks attended to the guests disguised as a waiter, while Dox dusted off his tuxedo and mingled with the crowd. Dox met Celeste, his fellow occultist, an ogre woman who collected martial relics. Celeste introduced Dox to Lady Eleanor Blackwood, a woman who ranked high-up in the Society. Dox tried to learn about the ruins from Eleanor, but the woman stopped listening when the ruins were mentioned. Making excuses, Eleanor singled out Lord Agoth Glitterpike, a wealthy, charismatic businessman and society man. The two retreated to a private room, and Dox couldn't follow.
Meanwhile, Stonks noticed a few strange people around the room: a dwarrow in a trenchcoat who seemed not to be fitting in very well, and a fellow wait, whose face gleamed with a feverish sheen. When Dox indicated that he wanted to learn what Agoth and Eleanor were discussing, Stonks left the hall, and climbed up a drainpipe to a window, where he overhead the two argue. Eleanor wanted to stop investigating the ruins, saying it was getting too dangerous, but Agoth was determined to keep exploring, in order to find more relics. He was after something that would give him an edge over the ‘Painted Man’.
Agoth called in 'Roderick', who turned out to be the sickly waiter. Agoth ordered Roderick to investigate the second chamber of the temple, and return with the 'cup, sceptre and crown'. Roderick left, moving awkwardly. As he did so, he coughed and vomited blue particles in the air--a sign that he was sickened by the Bloom.
Dox tried to get the group to exit, but no one listened to him. Instead, Celeste thumped the fire alarm and dirt water fell upon the gathering, cutting it short.
Meanwhile, Stonks followed the waiter outside, who shifted into were-rat form. The two battled, and Stonks won, noticing that the blue flowers were growing over Roderick's back. Stonks burned the body in a garbage can.
Meanwhile, Dox met up with Eleanor and sold his services to an exclusive occult expert. He went to her house, where they had fine wine, and he met Calanthus Mariel, an elven woman staying with Eleanor. This time Dox's impeccable charm worked, and Eleanor agreed to pay him to stop Roderick and other groups from exploring the ruins, giving him a collection of photographs and information about the site. Mariel also gave Dox an elven book of folklore, that also have had listed the secrets of the Bloom.
Back at the agency, the two met up and reviewed the notes. Stonks thought that the inscription on the temple was more of a warning--- that the building had been set up to seal the Bloom in rather than keep it out. The two resolved to journey underground to investigate the location further.