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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8672876" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>[Session 118, cont'd]</p><p>They then send for Grandmaster Farsensor. Kit asks about the fan. </p><p></p><p>“Oh, its twin must be awake.”</p><p></p><p>“We didn’t even know that there was a twin. Do you know who has it?”</p><p></p><p>“No, I don’t even know who made it. It could only be made by a First-comer, or perhaps a strong Second-comer. We didn’t realize that it had twinned, and I didn’t want to worry you. But it must have been made by our cousins at the same time. Was the connection strong, or did it waver?”</p><p></p><p>“It wavered.”</p><p></p><p>“They are untrained then. Would you like me to seal it off, so the communication can only be one way—that you can observe and hear, but they cannot?”</p><p></p><p>Kit says yes. The Grandmaster tells us that objects like this can get offended by being handled by someone besides the person that it bonds to. Kit works to keep its offense to a minimum.</p><p></p><p>“It is sealed. You will be able to sense any thoughts of the one who holds it, but they will not even know you exist—it will not light their gem.”</p><p></p><p>“They were primarily gifted to the l-younger races by both my people and the others. It was probably not a Noldar who handled it, because they would recognize it immediately. It might be in the possession of a lesser elf, or of a human. Likely a gift from its creator to one of its vassals. There are only a handful of human areas that are old enough. If it is not in the hands of an elven group—and it cannot be in the Underdark, because you would not be able to hear them—City of Life is old enough, Ecsilias is old enough, certainly not Masque unless it was taken as booty, nor Hanal.”</p><p></p><p>It could also have been made by the not-quite-Eldron First ones in the Crystal Cities.</p><p></p><p>It didn’t sound like the local accent, nor like the accent around Enclaves.</p><p></p><p>It almost can’t be a triplet—that would require active collusion, although it might be possible if one of the remnants of the Crystal City colluded with both.</p><p></p><p>They ask him to scry on the area where they think Drucilla is. There is forest, and then a hole in the ground, into which the viewpoint flies. There are several drained bodies. There are also a number of drow moving resolutely around the area. And indeed, there is what appears to be an Albino drowess here, dressed appropriately for House Aleval, but the drow warriors are dressed in high glass armor—all but unheard of among Llolthian drow. They are preparing a ritual space. There are cages of prisoners visible in the back. There is a powerful set of wards with a seeming. The drow warriors are heavily armed, but they have no heraldry whatsoever.</p><p></p><p>The Council calls for Lord Davion.</p><p></p><p>“They never give up, do they. Why are they feeding power to the northwest? It looks like they’re sending the power stream all the way to Hanal. That’s disturbing. Did you know about this?”</p><p></p><p>“No, they didn’t have me look until now.”</p><p></p><p>“Good catch. That ritual has to be stopped. They’re feeding an enormous amount of power to Hanal. And they’re preparing a horrific ritual—look at those implements. They will individually kill them in the most painful way possible. On the night of the full red moon, it will be empowered greatly.”</p><p></p><p>“That is not Lord Raf’s sister. It is his niece. Among my people, Lord Quinliart’s parents were remarkably fecund. Two renegades. My people are ashamed. Lord Quinliart had a sister and a brother as well. Princess Curinirim killed his sister, but his brother is now head of the Seventh Region.”</p><p></p><p>Lord Davion says that he needs to attack, but they have four charged death lances. He could block one, but he would need either someone who can shield him or cannon fodder. They will send a paladin guard with a war banner of light—the War Banner of the Unconquerable Sun-- to try to blind the enemy. They propose making him a lead shield. They also propose sending a devil with a tower shield as a shield bearer.</p><p></p><p>They call for Dame Constance, and she agrees to send three pit fiends carrying tower shields made of lead.</p><p></p><p>They travel to the gating room. Dame Brionna suggests sending Dame Christine of the Woody Thicket. Before they leave, Grandmaster Farsensor scries on Elizabeth of Caldra. There is a young, very serious looking man sitting on a chair hearing a case between a pair of farmers. And next to him is a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She whispers a reasonable sounding ruling to him, and he repeats it word-for-word. The next case is of a merchant who was swindled by magical fool’s silver. She makes another fair ruling.</p><p></p><p>She’s barely showing, but she’s also pregnant.</p><p></p><p>Alistair projects in, courtesy of the Grandmaster Farsensor, and they verify that the letter sent bears no resemblance to the one received.</p><p></p><p>“My cousin came home from the convent, she did not want to, but her father called for her. I told her I would take care of her family. We fell in love.”</p><p></p><p>“We will need to verify this with your cousin. If she does, on behalf of the Archduchy, we will close our eyes to this matter.”</p><p></p><p>They discuss helping their economy by opening trade to the lizardfolk and kobolds for salt. They also suggest allowing them issue letters of credit for 50,000 to 100,000 silver, redeemable for metal in 5 years, backed by the credit of the treasury of the Archduchy. They also suggest resettling refugees on the farms that were depopulated.</p><p></p><p>The trolls are becoming restless, and they are traditional enemies of the lizardfolk.</p><p></p><p>Grandmaster Farsensor does object reading on the falsified letter. A young woman, who bears a superficial resemblance to Eugene, at a camp table, wrote the letter. A young man is bound hand and foot behind her. They send someone to grab the person who delivered that letter. Kit’s people track him to one of the hidden, lower-class brothels, and they have him grabbed for questioning.</p><p></p><p>They also ask Dame Constance to inquire about Kit’s ancestry. "It’s very faint, but it stretches all the way back to Geryon, Archdevil of the Second Plane of Hell. He’s known for abusing beautiful women. He’s one of the only ones with any power of psionics. He is very lawful, very lawful—the only Archdevil who never plotted against the others because it would be against the law. She might have resistance to cold, she might have some talent with cold magic. But the magic is very weak, because the bloodline is so weak—so thin at this point."</p><p></p><p>---</p><p>They set about building a new, secure system of communication with all of the nobles—secure boxes that teleport missives back and forth, and mark who actually used them.</p><p>[End Session 118]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8672876, member: 7030144"] [Session 118, cont'd] They then send for Grandmaster Farsensor. Kit asks about the fan. “Oh, its twin must be awake.” “We didn’t even know that there was a twin. Do you know who has it?” “No, I don’t even know who made it. It could only be made by a First-comer, or perhaps a strong Second-comer. We didn’t realize that it had twinned, and I didn’t want to worry you. But it must have been made by our cousins at the same time. Was the connection strong, or did it waver?” “It wavered.” “They are untrained then. Would you like me to seal it off, so the communication can only be one way—that you can observe and hear, but they cannot?” Kit says yes. The Grandmaster tells us that objects like this can get offended by being handled by someone besides the person that it bonds to. Kit works to keep its offense to a minimum. “It is sealed. You will be able to sense any thoughts of the one who holds it, but they will not even know you exist—it will not light their gem.” “They were primarily gifted to the l-younger races by both my people and the others. It was probably not a Noldar who handled it, because they would recognize it immediately. It might be in the possession of a lesser elf, or of a human. Likely a gift from its creator to one of its vassals. There are only a handful of human areas that are old enough. If it is not in the hands of an elven group—and it cannot be in the Underdark, because you would not be able to hear them—City of Life is old enough, Ecsilias is old enough, certainly not Masque unless it was taken as booty, nor Hanal.” It could also have been made by the not-quite-Eldron First ones in the Crystal Cities. It didn’t sound like the local accent, nor like the accent around Enclaves. It almost can’t be a triplet—that would require active collusion, although it might be possible if one of the remnants of the Crystal City colluded with both. They ask him to scry on the area where they think Drucilla is. There is forest, and then a hole in the ground, into which the viewpoint flies. There are several drained bodies. There are also a number of drow moving resolutely around the area. And indeed, there is what appears to be an Albino drowess here, dressed appropriately for House Aleval, but the drow warriors are dressed in high glass armor—all but unheard of among Llolthian drow. They are preparing a ritual space. There are cages of prisoners visible in the back. There is a powerful set of wards with a seeming. The drow warriors are heavily armed, but they have no heraldry whatsoever. The Council calls for Lord Davion. “They never give up, do they. Why are they feeding power to the northwest? It looks like they’re sending the power stream all the way to Hanal. That’s disturbing. Did you know about this?” “No, they didn’t have me look until now.” “Good catch. That ritual has to be stopped. They’re feeding an enormous amount of power to Hanal. And they’re preparing a horrific ritual—look at those implements. They will individually kill them in the most painful way possible. On the night of the full red moon, it will be empowered greatly.” “That is not Lord Raf’s sister. It is his niece. Among my people, Lord Quinliart’s parents were remarkably fecund. Two renegades. My people are ashamed. Lord Quinliart had a sister and a brother as well. Princess Curinirim killed his sister, but his brother is now head of the Seventh Region.” Lord Davion says that he needs to attack, but they have four charged death lances. He could block one, but he would need either someone who can shield him or cannon fodder. They will send a paladin guard with a war banner of light—the War Banner of the Unconquerable Sun-- to try to blind the enemy. They propose making him a lead shield. They also propose sending a devil with a tower shield as a shield bearer. They call for Dame Constance, and she agrees to send three pit fiends carrying tower shields made of lead. They travel to the gating room. Dame Brionna suggests sending Dame Christine of the Woody Thicket. Before they leave, Grandmaster Farsensor scries on Elizabeth of Caldra. There is a young, very serious looking man sitting on a chair hearing a case between a pair of farmers. And next to him is a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She whispers a reasonable sounding ruling to him, and he repeats it word-for-word. The next case is of a merchant who was swindled by magical fool’s silver. She makes another fair ruling. She’s barely showing, but she’s also pregnant. Alistair projects in, courtesy of the Grandmaster Farsensor, and they verify that the letter sent bears no resemblance to the one received. “My cousin came home from the convent, she did not want to, but her father called for her. I told her I would take care of her family. We fell in love.” “We will need to verify this with your cousin. If she does, on behalf of the Archduchy, we will close our eyes to this matter.” They discuss helping their economy by opening trade to the lizardfolk and kobolds for salt. They also suggest allowing them issue letters of credit for 50,000 to 100,000 silver, redeemable for metal in 5 years, backed by the credit of the treasury of the Archduchy. They also suggest resettling refugees on the farms that were depopulated. The trolls are becoming restless, and they are traditional enemies of the lizardfolk. Grandmaster Farsensor does object reading on the falsified letter. A young woman, who bears a superficial resemblance to Eugene, at a camp table, wrote the letter. A young man is bound hand and foot behind her. They send someone to grab the person who delivered that letter. Kit’s people track him to one of the hidden, lower-class brothels, and they have him grabbed for questioning. They also ask Dame Constance to inquire about Kit’s ancestry. "It’s very faint, but it stretches all the way back to Geryon, Archdevil of the Second Plane of Hell. He’s known for abusing beautiful women. He’s one of the only ones with any power of psionics. He is very lawful, very lawful—the only Archdevil who never plotted against the others because it would be against the law. She might have resistance to cold, she might have some talent with cold magic. But the magic is very weak, because the bloodline is so weak—so thin at this point." --- They set about building a new, secure system of communication with all of the nobles—secure boxes that teleport missives back and forth, and mark who actually used them. [End Session 118] [/QUOTE]
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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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