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Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 7425149" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong>A growing city</strong></p><p></p><p>Healthy indeed, but that doesn't mean they both know what they truly want <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>---</p><p>Session 24</p><p></p><p>After Auryn saying 'good night', Carlyle spends a few moments on his balcony to contemplate. In the warm night breeze, he suddenly realizes two new buildings that certainly weren't there when he and Auryn left for Reo Pedresco. One of the two is a rather blocky, stout complex near Pardwright and the other one seems to be a really tall twin tower in another part of Central district. </p><p></p><p>Auryn sees the two buildings on her way home as well and mumbles “Flint, you ever-changing city...” to herself. </p><p></p><p>The next morning, Auryn takes her two new house-mates on a trip through Stray River, including Venezia's patisserie. She introduces the two to her favorite baker and Venezia seems unsure whether the new beauty in town would be a competitor or just a potential future friend. She then asks Andrei to take a long stroll with Isobel and get to know their new home district as she herself has to go to work.</p><p></p><p>It seems as if both Carlyle and Auryn then got the same idea, as both meet up at the closest of the new buildings, the stout cuboid complex on Pardwright campus. We take a peek at the construction signs to get the inevitable confirmation of our first, instinctive guess: the company involved in constructing and erecting this building is none else but Fordren industries. Well, that guess wasn't too far-fetched in the first place as both of us saw a man looking pretty much like Michael Carlyle walking around the site and who simply replaced his fashionable hat with a safety helmet. </p><p></p><p>We also get from the sign that this building is hosting the new quarters for the arcanoscience labs of Pardwright University and so we get that Carlyle the younger managed to establish a connection with the officials of Flint. So we greet then man in our usual, friendly manner and ask him all about Fordren industry's newest investments. </p><p></p><p>Michael Carlyle explains that this building is part of a cooperation with Pardwright University and that his company is glad to be able to offer the brilliant minds of the Uni a place where they can conduct their research. He himself is currently on a field visit and is tasked with checking the construction progress of both the Pardwright building and the Aurum building, his personal favorite, which carries a lot of prestige. </p><p></p><p>When we ask him about the Aurum, he enthuses about the eleven-story twin tower building that was originally designed by the halfling architect Oweia. Michael Carlyle then goes on to elaborate on the details of the Aurum, such as the sky bridges connecting the two towers and the ornamental, high-class interior. Oh, and that building is going to host the upcoming peace conference between the king of Risur and the sovereign of Danor as its grand opening event. Now these are news that tingle our trouble-senses and we ask Carlyle the younger whether we may accompany him on his inspection as we wish to make sure that everything is alright in the Aurum. Especially as we know that our RHC building got sabotaged by someone who had metal rings placed inside our walls. </p><p></p><p>(On top of that, Oweia could be read as negative foreshadowing as this is a “sigh” word like “Oh my”, “Ouch” or “My goodness”. It turned out to be one of Tiz' jokes though)</p><p></p><p>The businessman doesn't object to two additional pairs of eyes trained for spotting clues and so he's glad to have us with him. On our way through the Pardwright complex, he talks about the rather bad luck of Fordren Industries' logistics as they fell victim to cases of theft and some of their workers got pressured by members of “the Guild” lately. We instantly link this to the methods of Kell's thugs and ask Carlyle the younger whether he has heard of the name “Kell” as well. But he just shrugs and says that he doesn't really know the names of each and every criminal in Flint. </p><p></p><p>We get the impression that everything is fine in the Pardwright building and then head to the Aurum. Its really impressive exterior reminds us of a mixture of danoran and beran architecture and we're really keen on getting up to the eleventh floor to see what Central district looks like from such lofty heights. </p><p></p><p>Once we enter the construction site, we are quite a bit astonished to see it guarded by an elite eladrin security guard. Auryn says that she has heard of these exiles who came to Risur after the Malice, but she has never seen them in action. The eladrin, all men, seem surprised to see us as well and their short, still gallant reverences in Auryn's direction indicate that they are not used to seeing an eladrin woman. Auryn performs an old, respectful greeting gesture, then smiles and says “Now I know the Aurum is in good hands”.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(This was Tizbiz' nod to a short conversation we had regarding numbers and representation of eladrin men and women in Risur. I said it was kind of funny that there should be so much more guys than girls in the outside world, still we only encountered one man, Asrabey, and several women with Sokhana, Gale, Isobel, Kaea, and Kasvarina (although only in a vision). We later agreed to change Kaea into an elf as her being an eladrin isn't really relevant to the plot and Tiz didn't want her to be a guy. He also added said guards/mercenaries for a more fitting representation.)</span></p><p></p><p>Michael Carlyle doesn't really seem to understand what is going on between the RHC agent and his security staff, but Gabriel Carlyle explains that this is just a polite, foreign exchange and everything is fine. Carlyle the younger then leads us into the building while saying that, for the peace conference, the risuri delegation will be places within the west tower, being the more mundane of the two which is later destined to contain housings and is meant to be a public place. The danorans will take the opulent, luxurious east tower which will become a high class hotel after the conference. Last but not least, he reveals that there is actual magic in this building as its name, which was originally chosen by the late Guy Goodson, has the same teleport blocking effect as actual gold.</p><p></p><p>He guides us towards a highly technological elevator system and shows us around in the fancy rooms which will be used for the conference (Unfortunately, the piano isn't in tune yet...). Meanwhile, we try to warn our associate that there might be forces at work who'd try to disturb the peace conference, so the company and the security staff should be always on alert. </p><p></p><p>Next, we head to the RHC to hand our full report to Delft. All in all, he seems to be pretty satisfied by our progress. Now that Luc Jierre is absent, he also discusses the documents we got from Cardiff and explains that they have great value to the risuri secret service, no matter the outcome of the peace conference. We add that we're doubtful whether it would be wise of king Aodhan to stick to his plan of marrying Lya Jierre, now that we know that she's a member of the Obscurati. Still we all agree that the final judgment in this matter does lie solely in the king's hands. Which is why we'd like to give our monarch a direct report immediately. We add that while we do know that yes, he can read our written report or be briefed by Delft or Price-Hill, he might want to talk to those who have first-hand experiences in this case. </p><p></p><p>Delft returns that just because king Aodhan is attending to the peace conference, this doesn't mean that he's bound to marry Lya. And it would mean nothing short but a diplomatic disaster if he'd suddenly cancel the negotiations with Danor. He agrees though that we could all report directly to Aodhan. After all, we're some super secret special personal agents of the king or something like that. <span style="color: #008000">(Is he being jealous?)</span></p><p></p><p>Delft adds that there might be some other problematic development regarding the peace conference as well: He just got news from the police HQ of Flint that the Kell guild has increased their activities and rampant, organized crimes are really no flagship for an international conference. We take his hook and say that “international” might just be enough of a justification to get the RHC involved in this matter. After all, the success of the conference is of utmost interest for Risur and we all know how fearful diplomats can be when it comes to criminal activities. </p><p></p><p>“Just the words I wanted to hear from my constables.” Delft says and asks us to gather as many information about the guild and their recent activities as possible over the next couple of days. </p><p></p><p>As we already tasked Flying Spark and his rookie team with a recon mission regarding the fake reporter who charmed one of our secretary girls, we head to our office and look for reports or memos. We do find the faerie dragon in one of the RHC's common rooms where he's busy lecturing other rookies on proper investigation and the careful handling of evidences. He's happy to see the three of us again after our weeks of absence and says that he (or rather, they, as he's still hosting Dr. Meredith) is starting to like this RHC job. </p><p></p><p>He accompanies us to our office where he tells us all about his investigation: That man is often hanging out in the “black Rose” brothel and the “clean Sailor” pub where he's winning more money in gambling than the math says he should (says Dr. Meredith). Someone taught him that this could be a secret means of payment. He also met with a rough guy named Hammerton who's said to be a higher up in the Kell guild. He got curious and dug a bit deeper and then realized that this “guild” has spread all over the city like a bug infestation. Flying Spark also heard that the police is having troubles as well, especially around Flint harbor. </p><p></p><p>This sounds troubling indeed and Carlyle decides to pay his Familia contacts a visit again to discuss the recent change in criminal clime. </p><p></p><p>Then Auryn asks for the purse of Elanor Janette as she wishes to take a closer look at the woman's contacts. Most of them seem to be regular clients for her matchmaking service, but she also finds the names of two eladrin kings who Auryn originally thought to be long dead. She's a bit disturbed at the sight and doesn't know whether the contacts are genuine or whether someone else is using them as a pseudonym. </p><p></p><p>Before we can start our investigation, Luc Jierre and Ottavia Sacredotte return to the RHC as they decided that they'd wish to see the Witchoil factory in the Bleak Gate with their own eyes. So we take half a day to show them around in the almost destroyed complex and mention that we found evidence that Nicodemus (or simply another chain-smoking OB member) must have been here after we shut the whole thing down. Both Luc and Ottavia are surprised and a bit shocked once they realize the threat such a factory could pose to Flint should it go haywire. </p><p></p><p>“More specifically, to the Nettles. Where the poorest of the poor and the factory workers have built their homes. We're really lucky that we didn't suffer any more casualties.” Carlyle explains. </p><p></p><p>Luc believably comments that he didn't know of any of this. He says that we gave them a lot of facts and ideas to think about. The young Jierre then decides that he'd like to return to Danor to talk to his sister about all he's read and seen during these two days. </p><p></p><p>“Then find your courage and don't be afraid to speak your mind, Luc Jierre. You are a scion of a grand family and there lies power within your very existence. Use it, and use it wisely.” Auryn says.</p><p></p><p>She then remembers him that he had asked her during their breakfast in Nalaam what the heck happened in the arena. Luc nods and she goes on to explain that everything he's seen there had been real: She had been abducted and nearly sold by Elanor, and both Mr. Carlyle and Andrei von Recklinghausen had been unjustly sentenced to die at the claws and jaws of the flaming tiger. She says that while there was no way for him to prevent the auction, he could have stepped in and could have tried to prevent the flaming tiger incident. Power, she explains, comes in a variety of guises: Physical might, like in Andrei's case, intellect, money, or a well-known family name. But power also comes with the need to use it responsibly. A fact even a naïve man like Andrei had internalized when he tried to do what was right. </p><p></p><p>Ottavia seems to see truth in our words, even if Luc is a bit hesitant when it comes to acting by himself. We add that he and Ottavia may return to Danor, as we promised. However, the lantern has to stay in the RHC as we cannot let it fall into the hands of Nicodemus and would like to understand it ourselves. Luc seems content with this prospect and explains that the Obscurtai will surely build other lanterns now that they know the prototype does work as intended. They might need quite a bit of time though. </p><p></p><p>We then guide them to the danoran embassy and wish both good luck and a pleasant journey home. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(And if you're ever going to marry for real, we're here to pick up your invitation!)</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 7425149, member: 6816692"] [b]A growing city[/b] Healthy indeed, but that doesn't mean they both know what they truly want :) --- Session 24 After Auryn saying 'good night', Carlyle spends a few moments on his balcony to contemplate. In the warm night breeze, he suddenly realizes two new buildings that certainly weren't there when he and Auryn left for Reo Pedresco. One of the two is a rather blocky, stout complex near Pardwright and the other one seems to be a really tall twin tower in another part of Central district. Auryn sees the two buildings on her way home as well and mumbles “Flint, you ever-changing city...” to herself. The next morning, Auryn takes her two new house-mates on a trip through Stray River, including Venezia's patisserie. She introduces the two to her favorite baker and Venezia seems unsure whether the new beauty in town would be a competitor or just a potential future friend. She then asks Andrei to take a long stroll with Isobel and get to know their new home district as she herself has to go to work. It seems as if both Carlyle and Auryn then got the same idea, as both meet up at the closest of the new buildings, the stout cuboid complex on Pardwright campus. We take a peek at the construction signs to get the inevitable confirmation of our first, instinctive guess: the company involved in constructing and erecting this building is none else but Fordren industries. Well, that guess wasn't too far-fetched in the first place as both of us saw a man looking pretty much like Michael Carlyle walking around the site and who simply replaced his fashionable hat with a safety helmet. We also get from the sign that this building is hosting the new quarters for the arcanoscience labs of Pardwright University and so we get that Carlyle the younger managed to establish a connection with the officials of Flint. So we greet then man in our usual, friendly manner and ask him all about Fordren industry's newest investments. Michael Carlyle explains that this building is part of a cooperation with Pardwright University and that his company is glad to be able to offer the brilliant minds of the Uni a place where they can conduct their research. He himself is currently on a field visit and is tasked with checking the construction progress of both the Pardwright building and the Aurum building, his personal favorite, which carries a lot of prestige. When we ask him about the Aurum, he enthuses about the eleven-story twin tower building that was originally designed by the halfling architect Oweia. Michael Carlyle then goes on to elaborate on the details of the Aurum, such as the sky bridges connecting the two towers and the ornamental, high-class interior. Oh, and that building is going to host the upcoming peace conference between the king of Risur and the sovereign of Danor as its grand opening event. Now these are news that tingle our trouble-senses and we ask Carlyle the younger whether we may accompany him on his inspection as we wish to make sure that everything is alright in the Aurum. Especially as we know that our RHC building got sabotaged by someone who had metal rings placed inside our walls. (On top of that, Oweia could be read as negative foreshadowing as this is a “sigh” word like “Oh my”, “Ouch” or “My goodness”. It turned out to be one of Tiz' jokes though) The businessman doesn't object to two additional pairs of eyes trained for spotting clues and so he's glad to have us with him. On our way through the Pardwright complex, he talks about the rather bad luck of Fordren Industries' logistics as they fell victim to cases of theft and some of their workers got pressured by members of “the Guild” lately. We instantly link this to the methods of Kell's thugs and ask Carlyle the younger whether he has heard of the name “Kell” as well. But he just shrugs and says that he doesn't really know the names of each and every criminal in Flint. We get the impression that everything is fine in the Pardwright building and then head to the Aurum. Its really impressive exterior reminds us of a mixture of danoran and beran architecture and we're really keen on getting up to the eleventh floor to see what Central district looks like from such lofty heights. Once we enter the construction site, we are quite a bit astonished to see it guarded by an elite eladrin security guard. Auryn says that she has heard of these exiles who came to Risur after the Malice, but she has never seen them in action. The eladrin, all men, seem surprised to see us as well and their short, still gallant reverences in Auryn's direction indicate that they are not used to seeing an eladrin woman. Auryn performs an old, respectful greeting gesture, then smiles and says “Now I know the Aurum is in good hands”. [COLOR=#008000](This was Tizbiz' nod to a short conversation we had regarding numbers and representation of eladrin men and women in Risur. I said it was kind of funny that there should be so much more guys than girls in the outside world, still we only encountered one man, Asrabey, and several women with Sokhana, Gale, Isobel, Kaea, and Kasvarina (although only in a vision). We later agreed to change Kaea into an elf as her being an eladrin isn't really relevant to the plot and Tiz didn't want her to be a guy. He also added said guards/mercenaries for a more fitting representation.)[/COLOR] Michael Carlyle doesn't really seem to understand what is going on between the RHC agent and his security staff, but Gabriel Carlyle explains that this is just a polite, foreign exchange and everything is fine. Carlyle the younger then leads us into the building while saying that, for the peace conference, the risuri delegation will be places within the west tower, being the more mundane of the two which is later destined to contain housings and is meant to be a public place. The danorans will take the opulent, luxurious east tower which will become a high class hotel after the conference. Last but not least, he reveals that there is actual magic in this building as its name, which was originally chosen by the late Guy Goodson, has the same teleport blocking effect as actual gold. He guides us towards a highly technological elevator system and shows us around in the fancy rooms which will be used for the conference (Unfortunately, the piano isn't in tune yet...). Meanwhile, we try to warn our associate that there might be forces at work who'd try to disturb the peace conference, so the company and the security staff should be always on alert. Next, we head to the RHC to hand our full report to Delft. All in all, he seems to be pretty satisfied by our progress. Now that Luc Jierre is absent, he also discusses the documents we got from Cardiff and explains that they have great value to the risuri secret service, no matter the outcome of the peace conference. We add that we're doubtful whether it would be wise of king Aodhan to stick to his plan of marrying Lya Jierre, now that we know that she's a member of the Obscurati. Still we all agree that the final judgment in this matter does lie solely in the king's hands. Which is why we'd like to give our monarch a direct report immediately. We add that while we do know that yes, he can read our written report or be briefed by Delft or Price-Hill, he might want to talk to those who have first-hand experiences in this case. Delft returns that just because king Aodhan is attending to the peace conference, this doesn't mean that he's bound to marry Lya. And it would mean nothing short but a diplomatic disaster if he'd suddenly cancel the negotiations with Danor. He agrees though that we could all report directly to Aodhan. After all, we're some super secret special personal agents of the king or something like that. [COLOR=#008000](Is he being jealous?)[/COLOR] Delft adds that there might be some other problematic development regarding the peace conference as well: He just got news from the police HQ of Flint that the Kell guild has increased their activities and rampant, organized crimes are really no flagship for an international conference. We take his hook and say that “international” might just be enough of a justification to get the RHC involved in this matter. After all, the success of the conference is of utmost interest for Risur and we all know how fearful diplomats can be when it comes to criminal activities. “Just the words I wanted to hear from my constables.” Delft says and asks us to gather as many information about the guild and their recent activities as possible over the next couple of days. As we already tasked Flying Spark and his rookie team with a recon mission regarding the fake reporter who charmed one of our secretary girls, we head to our office and look for reports or memos. We do find the faerie dragon in one of the RHC's common rooms where he's busy lecturing other rookies on proper investigation and the careful handling of evidences. He's happy to see the three of us again after our weeks of absence and says that he (or rather, they, as he's still hosting Dr. Meredith) is starting to like this RHC job. He accompanies us to our office where he tells us all about his investigation: That man is often hanging out in the “black Rose” brothel and the “clean Sailor” pub where he's winning more money in gambling than the math says he should (says Dr. Meredith). Someone taught him that this could be a secret means of payment. He also met with a rough guy named Hammerton who's said to be a higher up in the Kell guild. He got curious and dug a bit deeper and then realized that this “guild” has spread all over the city like a bug infestation. Flying Spark also heard that the police is having troubles as well, especially around Flint harbor. This sounds troubling indeed and Carlyle decides to pay his Familia contacts a visit again to discuss the recent change in criminal clime. Then Auryn asks for the purse of Elanor Janette as she wishes to take a closer look at the woman's contacts. Most of them seem to be regular clients for her matchmaking service, but she also finds the names of two eladrin kings who Auryn originally thought to be long dead. She's a bit disturbed at the sight and doesn't know whether the contacts are genuine or whether someone else is using them as a pseudonym. Before we can start our investigation, Luc Jierre and Ottavia Sacredotte return to the RHC as they decided that they'd wish to see the Witchoil factory in the Bleak Gate with their own eyes. So we take half a day to show them around in the almost destroyed complex and mention that we found evidence that Nicodemus (or simply another chain-smoking OB member) must have been here after we shut the whole thing down. Both Luc and Ottavia are surprised and a bit shocked once they realize the threat such a factory could pose to Flint should it go haywire. “More specifically, to the Nettles. Where the poorest of the poor and the factory workers have built their homes. We're really lucky that we didn't suffer any more casualties.” Carlyle explains. Luc believably comments that he didn't know of any of this. He says that we gave them a lot of facts and ideas to think about. The young Jierre then decides that he'd like to return to Danor to talk to his sister about all he's read and seen during these two days. “Then find your courage and don't be afraid to speak your mind, Luc Jierre. You are a scion of a grand family and there lies power within your very existence. Use it, and use it wisely.” Auryn says. She then remembers him that he had asked her during their breakfast in Nalaam what the heck happened in the arena. Luc nods and she goes on to explain that everything he's seen there had been real: She had been abducted and nearly sold by Elanor, and both Mr. Carlyle and Andrei von Recklinghausen had been unjustly sentenced to die at the claws and jaws of the flaming tiger. She says that while there was no way for him to prevent the auction, he could have stepped in and could have tried to prevent the flaming tiger incident. Power, she explains, comes in a variety of guises: Physical might, like in Andrei's case, intellect, money, or a well-known family name. But power also comes with the need to use it responsibly. A fact even a naïve man like Andrei had internalized when he tried to do what was right. Ottavia seems to see truth in our words, even if Luc is a bit hesitant when it comes to acting by himself. We add that he and Ottavia may return to Danor, as we promised. However, the lantern has to stay in the RHC as we cannot let it fall into the hands of Nicodemus and would like to understand it ourselves. Luc seems content with this prospect and explains that the Obscurtai will surely build other lanterns now that they know the prototype does work as intended. They might need quite a bit of time though. We then guide them to the danoran embassy and wish both good luck and a pleasant journey home. [COLOR=#008000](And if you're ever going to marry for real, we're here to pick up your invitation!)[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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