NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="ellinor" data-source="post: 5722921" data-attributes="member: 14561">26x01The room was silent.  There was a draft coming in from somewhere that hit the back of Nyoko’s neck and made the hair on her arms stand up.  She felt Savina’s comforting hand on her shoulder.“We throw her in the lake,” Kormick suggested.“Or we call her bluff,” Tavi said.  “Maybe she doesn’t have the proof she claims to have.”Nyoko shook her head.  “She has enough.  If she told the Priesthood the same things she told me, the Mother Superior would end this Inquest without a second thought.”“So we co-opt her,” Twiggy offered.  “We make it worth her while not to tell.”“Other than giving her exactly what she wants, how do we do that?”  Nyoko asked.Together, the group developed a plan.  Nyoko felt uncomfortable; she wished there were a way to solve this without having to rely on others.  But by the end, she was willing to proceed.“So it’s decided,” Savina said.  “And the sooner we succeed, the sooner we’ll all be out of Cauldron, and on our way to Divine Mark.”“The sooner we’ll all be out of Cauldron?”  Nyoko asked. “You mean me too?”“I just assumed you'd come with us,” Savina replied.  “You're kind of like family.” Like family, Nyoko thought.  She had always thought of the Adepts as family—they were the only family she’d had, since she was barely old enough to remember.  But Savina was right; in a way, this curious group of heathens had become like family.  She hadn’t thought of leaving Cauldron again, not really, but was there anyone in Cauldron who would say what Savina just said?  Nyoko’s eyes clouded, and she blinked, and blinked again.  To the heathens, she was sure, it merely looked like she blinked a lot.  But Nyoko was an Adept, and those blinks were as close as an Adept ever got to bawling.###Unsuku had been angry.  Now she was worried.For many years, she’d had a good thing going here in Cauldron.  She had been the Governor of her own little Province.  As the premiere Adept dancer in the city, she was respected, admired, and desired.  She was paid handsomely for her skills on the dance floor, and even more handsomely for her skills in, ahem, other arenas.  And since those other arenas were a side business, she was not required to hand over any of those earnings to the Adept Chapterhouse.  By the time her Five Year vows were up, she would be able to retire in a luxury rare for someone not of the Peerage, performing (in either arena) only as she saw fit to maintain her wealth, power, and reputation.And then Nyoko came along.Unsuku had never taken any notice of Nyoko before.  She was Lord Masa’s little protégé, and had never shown any real interest in Dance.  She had never been a threat, and so Unsuku had never paid her any attention.Until Masa had asked the little rat to dance the Dance of Sedellus.  Unsuku had been expecting to dance that part herself.  She’d been counting on it.  Public exposure was critical for her.  But instead, all the noteworthies of Cauldron had seen Nyoko dance.  And they had loved her.  Loved her!  How dare they love her?  Unsuku had spotted almost half a dozen glaring errors in poise and finger positioning, but no one else seemed to notice or care.And because of that performance, Nyoko was asked to perform in her stead at Lord Tanaka’s Indulgence Party, one of the most lucrative events of Unsuku’s year.  That was the final straw.  Nyoko was usurping Unsuku’s rightful place and brazenly stealing her patrons.  That simply could not be allowed to stand.So Unsuku had taken action.  Some might consider blackmail an ugly word, but Unsuku considered it an effective one.  She didn’t really care what Nyoko and the heathens were up to or why, or what effect informing the Mother Superior on them would have.  All she wanted was what was rightfully hers.  That, and to make it clear—to Nyoko and everyone else—who the premiere Adept dancer in Cauldron was.And so she had not, in any way, expected to be summoned before the Inquisition.It was only then that Unsuku began to wonder if maybe she ought to have cared a bit more about what Nyoko and her heathens were up to and why.Unsuku was led into the Hall of the Inquisition, past a row of offices, and into a side hallway with an unassuming door.  Nyoko was waiting there for her, along with the heathens.  All looked at her with hostility.  “I have taken precautions, you know,” Unsuku said, determined not to let them see how unsettled she was.  “If anything happens to me, if I die or disappear. . . your plan goes straight to the Mother Superior.”One of the heathens rolled her eyes.  Unsuku couldn’t be certain, but it seemed for a moment as if her armor hissed as she did so.The door opened. Unsuku entered, followed by the heathens.  It was a small room, containing a makeshift divan surrounded by papers.  Lord Ono was propped up on an elbow on the divan, reading something.  He did not appear nearly as sick as she had heard.  “Unsuku, I presume,” he said.She nodded.“My Inquest is in need of an additional Adept to bear Witness,” Lord Ono said.  “They have specifically requested you.” Unsuku blinked. Unsuku’s mind raced as Lord Ono filled her in on the details of the Inquest.  As much as she detested Nyoko, it was, she had to admit, a brilliant move.  If she became an official part of the Inquest, everything she had planned to blackmail Nyoko with would be protected under Witness.  As an Adept, she would be bound not to reveal what she knew—and whatever else Unsuku was, she was still an Adept.  The leverage she held over Nyoko would be lost. “Anyone who helps us will surely gain the favorable attention of Lady Akiko-san,” said one of the heathens.  “And anyone who hinders us will gain Lady Akiko-san’s attention, as well,” said another.Unsuku’s mind slid past the threat and thought the story forward.  The group would report its findings to <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/251423-rose-wind-saga-halmae-updated-october-21-2011-a-22.html#post5420480" target="_blank">Lady Akiko-san</a>, the overall Head of the Inquisition, in Divine Mark… who is also the Lord High Regent’s heir.  A chance to be cast as the mentor who taught Nyoko everything she knew… to come to the attention of the woman who would soon be the Lord High Regent… to entice the notice of the Peerage of Divine Mark…Nyoko was welcome to be the premiere dancer in Cauldron.  Unsuku would be the premiere dancer in all of the Sovereignty.This was much better than blackmail.Well… almost.  There was one thing missing…Unsuku listened quietly as Lord Ono finished explaining the situation.  “I will accept your offer,” Unsuku said, fixing her gaze on Lord Ono, “on one condition.  I will be the Chief Witness on these proceedings, and Nyoko will be my junior.”Off to the side, she heard Nyoko’s intake of breath, and knew that she had struck home.“That doesn’t make sense,” one of the heathen girls said. “Nyoko has been Witnessing this Inquest since the beginning, she should have seniority—““That is the point, Twiggy-san,” Nyoko said.  “She wishes to force me into a subordinate role. It is not intended to make sense.  It is intended to put me in my place.”Unsuku said nothing.“Oh,” the heathen said. “Well then… I guess, Nyoko, it’s up to you.”The heathens all looked at Nyoko, who did not take her eyes off Unsuku.  You would let the Affirmation fail, her body language said.  You would see the will of the Lord High Regent defied, just to get back at me?And I’d smile while I did it, Unsuku’s body language replied.Nyoko held her gaze.  For a moment, just a moment, Unsuku began to wonder if she had pushed too far…How sad you are, Nyoko said with her body, but her mouth said “Fine.”Unsuku smiled.  “Excellent,” she said.  “Then as Chief Witness, I believe it is Nyoko’s duty to convey to me everything she has so far seen…”DM’s Note: Okay, yeah, so I totally expected them to throw Unsuku in the lake to shut her up.  Or stick her in a cell in the basement of the Inquisition next to Kameo.  I had her all statted out for a big fight as a funky, shifty solo skirmisher. I did not, under any circumstance, expect them to turn her into a Party NPC.Which actually worked out great, as she was a lot of fun to play.  But the moral here is, as usual, to never, never, never underestimate the desire of my players to avoid violent solutions…</blockquote>

Verification