“ A casual remark by one of the party about something met on a previous adventure leads to a summons to and grilling by the Mages' Guild (or equivalent), probably resulting in an expedition back to that area to recover the things for study by the Guild. The party's presence will be 'requested' for this expedition.”
“ In a society, people who are in a higher postition of authority have a bigger incentive to stay on the right side of the law since the more authority you have, the punishments for criminal activities become much more severe. To the point where the most powerful face defacto death/life sentences for every crime.”
“ The party wakes up in an inn around a table with wine goblets near at hand. They have forgotten all that happened the last day. As they seek to find the truth they come in contact with a man that gives them a job which pays quite nicely.
When they have finished with this rather dubious assignment they are invited to dinner by the the man...
Deja Wu?”