Cerebral Paladin's Storyhour (updated 4/22)

[thatdarncat]

woot! yay update

I'm enjoying the mystery... I don't do enough mysteries in my games, though I think my players would like more.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Glad you're enjoying the mystery. Mysteries are one of my favorite types of games. Getting on with the story

Session 14 (cont'd):
5/18:

In the morning, the group discusses their discoveries. The two things that stand out are the early departure, and the strange tatoo on the corpse that was found with Brother Moreth.

Sister Aurora muses about the tatoo. It seems Galerian, but she isn't sufficiently well versed in Galerius's symbology to be sure. The group heads to the Lurdanan temple in the outer city where they left the baby kobolds to find out if the priest could recommend any Galerian priests for them to question.

The priest is happy to see them, if only because Dove and Ginara are willing to play with the kobolds and thus distract them for a little while. "Priests of Galerius? Hmm. There aren't many Galerians around here. The cath Galdras are devotees of Galerius, though; I know they have a chaplain at the castle. Other than that, I can't think of any, although of course the main churches have priests who serve all of the Gods of the Church Imperial." The group thanks him and begins the uphill walk to Dro Galdra.

"Wait a moment..." Sister Aurora says as they walk through a gate back into the inner city. "How do we know that the group that killed Brother Moreth left in the morning?"

"Because that's what the barmaid told me," replies Melania.

"Not quite. The barmaid told you that they paid at night and said that they planned on leaving in the morning. They could have left immediately, and simply been trying to avoid suspicion when they weren't there in the morning."

"Not to mention giving any investigators false information about when they departed. But if they left at night..." Ginara trails off.

"They would have had to sign out when they went through the city gates!" Dove finishes the thought.

"And if they signed out at the gate, we can find out who they are."

The group detours from its trip to the castle. The few dayshift guards on duty are suprised to face any questions, and at first refuse to check the log. Between Melania's persuasiveness, Lhovrik's lordly manner and assurances that this is for the good of the Empire, and the news that they are investigating a murder, the group is finally able to convince the guard to cooperate. The first two gates they check have no records of anyone that sounds like the group they are looking for leaving. The eastern gate, however, does. On the night of the 16th, a group of four men left the inner city in the middle of the night. The leader, who signed out for all of them, was named Boren. The group prevails on the guard to give them the name and address of the guard corporal who was on duty that night, and they head across town to his home.

After banging on the door for a while, the group is met by a bleary-eyed man, only a few years older than they are. "Can I help you?"

"Were you in charge of the eastern gate two nights ago?"

"Yes, I'm on the nightshift this fortnight." The guard rubs his eyes.

"We're interested in talking to you about a group of travellers who signed out through the gate late that night. The log said that there were four of them and that their leader was named Boren."

"Why do you want to know?"

"We're investigating the murder of one of our companions. We think they were involved."

That wakes the guard up. "A murder? I had no idea. Of course I'll help in any way I can."

"Can you tell us anything you remember about them?"

"I didn't notice too much. The one who signed out did most of the talking. He looked to be pretty wealthy-- a merchant, maybe, although he didn't have many trade goods."

"Do you know where they were going?"

"Not really. Back home, I guess."

"Back home?"

"To Nusaybia. Boren's a Nusaybian name, and he had the accent to go with it. And the eastern road leads straight to the border, a few days' ride away."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 14 (cont'd):

Sister Aurora nods, starting to understand. "Is there a heretical church in this city?"

"Nusaybian, you mean? Sure, outside the city walls." The guard describes how to find it.

After some brief questioning to make sure he has told them everything he knows about Boren and his companions, the group heads away.

They quickly reach the small Nusaybian church. The building is not particularly unusual for a church, although the construction is substantially more solid and imposing than the other buildings in this section of town. The most striking thing about the church is the imposing stone wall that surrounds its enclosure. A single heavy iron gate bars the only entrance. When this church was built, they obviously wanted to be ready for riots or worse.

The gate is closed, and Sister Aurora loudly rings the bell set next to the gate. After a minute or so, a middle-aged man wearing a priest's frock approaches the gate. Sister Aurora easily identifies him as an ordinary priest, although the cut of his vestments are slightly different from what a priest of the Church Imperial would wear. He stops short as he looks at the group outside the gate, and particularly at Sister Aurora. While some of the orders exist in both Churches, only the Church Imperial includes the Rays of Truth.

"May I help you folks?" the priest asks, remaining behind the closed gate.

"We just want to ask a few questions," Melania responds. She describes the body they saw at the guardhouse. "Did he come here?"

"Once or twice. I assumed he was passing through with one of the merchants. Why?"

Sister Aurora cuts in. "We want to find out some more information about him. He had a tatoo on one shoulder, of an eagle in flight, with a spear in its talons, above the motto 'Valor, Honor, and Victory' and the numeral IV. Do you know what that means?"

The priest looks very uncomfortable. "Look, I didn't know him well. He's not a regular member of my congregation, just someone passing through. I'm a loyal subject of the Empire, and so are the parishioners. We don't want any problems, and just want to live in peace, worshipping the Gods as our forefathers did..."

Melania nods. "We understand. We don't think there's anything wrong with how you worship." Sister Aurora begins to interrupt, but Lhovrik and Dove quickly shush her. "We just need to get some information about this man. He's been involved in a murder, and we need to find out more about him. We know that he didn't really have any meaningful connection to you or your parish. But if you start covering up for him, we might need to take it up with the guard..."

"You have to believe me. I never knew he had that tatoo." The priest pauses and sighs. "It means he was a member of the Nusaybian Royal Guard. But I swear, I never knew he was a Guardsman. I don't know whether he's still in the Guard or retired. I had no idea."

The group presses the priest a little longer and confirms that he knows nothing else about the matter. With that, they thank him and leave.

Lord Lhovrik turns to his companions. "I think we now know everything we're going to find out. The merchant, if he wasn't really a spy, and his companions were Nusaybian, and included at least one Royal Guardsman. They killed Brother Moreth, for who knows what reason, and then they left that night. We can't possibly catch them by this point. We might as well head back to Lir Sanek."

This time, the rest of the group is forced to agree. They inform the sergeant of the guard of what they discovered; while he pays a little more attention to the fact that the unidentified corpse was an elite Nusaybian soldier, it's clear that he lumps these deaths in with all the other killings that go unpunished and has no interest in worrying about it. They also return to the Aretash priory and are shown in to see the prior.

The prior listens as impassively as ever as they describe what they have discovered. "Thank you for this information. The followers of Aretas are grateful. I do not know why these Nusaybians would have wanted to kill Brother Moreth, but I will pass this information along to others of my order." Once again, the group cannot tell whether the prior is completely controlling his emotions, or whether he simply does not care about Brother Moreth's death.

In the late afternoon, the group boards a barge heading down the River Sanek and begins the last leg of their journey home.

End Session 14

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15:

5/25

After an uneventful week of river travel, the group arrives back in their home city. Lir Sanek's sprawling, crowded cityscape is a welcome change from the wilderness and small towns that they have been in for the past several months. The group immediately splits up to take care of the various tasks of returning to the city. Lhovrik and Ginara head straight home, while Dove and Sister Aurora each decide to attend to their professional stations before having to deal with seeing their family. Melania has the different issue of needing to find a place to live, since she was forced to abandon her old apartment and had yet to rent a new one.

As they get off the riverboat, Ginara hires an urchin to deliver a short note to her uncle Kinric, telling him that she's back in the city. Lhovrik chastises his sister for insisting on contacting Kinric so quickly, before they have even been home to see their family, but Ginara pays him no mind.

When they arrive home, their mother is overjoyed to see them safely returned. Ginara is somewhat relieved that their mother greets them instead of their father, but they quickly start catching up.

"How have things been here, Mother?"

"Tumultuous, I'm afraid. Everything's fine with the family, but the city has had some troubles. The religious troubles that were just starting before you left-- the looting and rioting and such have broken out periodically. There have been some priests beaten, and a few clashes were the city guard has had to put down a mob in the docks area. Things are still tense, and some of the young priests have been stirring people up, while some of the guard patrols have been looking for trouble."

Lhovrik pipes up, "But if there are Vergdunians causing trouble, surely vigorous guard patrols are the right response."

"Oh, I don't question the response, dear, but the troubles are still unfortunate. Oh, did you happen to see your cousins in Lir Galdra while you were travelling? There have been some worrying rumors."

"No, it wasn't the sort of trip that allowed us to spend time visiting family, Mother. What seems to be the matter?"

"Oh, I don't know for sure. There have been some stories about a magical mishap-- some quite unpleasant stories. I was hoping you might know the details. You know I've never been close to those cousins, but I was still wondering." Lady cath Kalissar brightens as she changes the topic. "Have you heard the big news? The Emperor has appointed a new governor."

Ginara looks up with interest. "Who is it?"

"Sir Korel cath Sanek. His installation is scheduled for the first of Sixmonth. It should be quite festive."

Lhovrik thinks for a second about what he's heard of Sir Korel. A member of the most important family of Lir Sanek, he has spent the last several years as governor of one of the southern colonies, where he's earned a strong reputation. He was dubbed a Champion for his heroism during the Kobold War, before he left the military for civilian appointments.

"What's happening to Governor cath Varish?" Lhovrik asks.

"She's been recalled to the imperial court to serve as an advisor. It's hard to say what to make of that. Sometimes that can mean a position of even greater importance, swaying policy throughout the Empire, but sometimes that means being put out to pasture. You need to know the ins and outs of the court to figure out which, and I've never spent much time in the capital court-watching. There are some who think that the Emperor wanted to make sure that the governorship didn't become an ancestral seat, but I don't think that's likely; Governor cath Varish has been in power for 10 years, but we've had longer serving governors, and while her father was once governor, that was 20 years earlier and there were three governors in between."

Lhovrik pauses for a moment. "Could I speak with you about something, Mother? Perhaps in your workshop?"

"Of course, dear. If you'll excuse us . . ." Lady cath Kalissar smiles at Ginara.

"Fine." Ginara resignedly heads off to her room and resumes her habit of throwing daggers at the door.

Once they are in the scrying proof workshop, Lhovrik begins talking seriously to his mother. "Is Kaelat cath Sallen still in the city?"

"I'm not sure, dear. Your father hasn't spoken with him since their fight just before you left. He was always more of your father's friend than mine, although I liked him well enough. Loraton never did say what they fought about, and I didn't want to press him..."

"I think I know what they fought about. Kaelat was opposed to the mission we were on and wanted it to fail. I think he wanted to recruit Dad, or at least me through Dad, to try to make sure it failed."

"Why would he want to do that? Kaelat served the Empire loyally for years. He fought in the Kobold Wars with us..."

"That's why I think he wanted the mission to fail. We were escorting a cargo of kobolds as part of a negotiation with a dragon in the North. I'm pretty sure he was plotting against it, and Father refused to have anything to do with it."

"I see." Lady cath Kalissar pauses. "I would be careful when talking to your father about this. He lost a lot of friends during the war. He'll take losing more friends because of it very hard."

"Some of Kaelat's agents may know that we played an instrumental role in making the mission succeed. They may try to get revenge on us. Do you think you could find out from friends in the Inquisition whether a Talin Cralith is still in the city?"

"I can try. I've never had a lot of contacts among the Inquisitors, but I'll see what I can do."

Lhovrik heads to Ginara's room. Hearing the familiar "thump" of daggers striking it, he's careful to knock before entering.

"Who is it?"

"Lhovrik."

"Oh, c'mon in."

Lhovrik enters her room cautiously, holding his familiar Misty out as a shield. Ginara's expression brightens on seeing Misty, only to sour when Lhovrik flings the cat over his shoulder and down the staircase.

"I'm going to tell Mom you weren't treating your familiar well."

"I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going to throw a dagger at me."

"I've only thrown a dagger at you a few times. And most of those were accidents!"

Lhovrik closes the door. "Ginara... I want to talk with you a little about Uncle Kinric and about the trip."

Ginara smiles. "I think that's the first time you've called him uncle."

Lhovrik thinks back to when he was a small child, when Kinric often visited the family and was always introduced to him as Uncle Kinric. Of course, Kinric stopped visiting more than fifteen years ago.

"That's not important right now. I don't think you should tell him the details of the trip."

"Why not?"

"You know how Father had a big fight with his old friend Kaelat before we left? I think it was about the trip. I think Kaelat was plotting against it."

"Uncle Kinric wouldn't do something like that. He encouraged me to go on the trip and works for the Empire."

"Kaelat worked for the Empire as well. This turned someone who has been a friend of this family for years against Dad. And Kinric hasn't been a friend of this family for a long time."

"He's been a friend to me!" The hurt tone in Ginara's voice makes it clear that she thinks that not many people fall into that category.

"I'm just saying it could be dangerous to talk to people about what we did..." Lhovrik gives up and returns to his room to study before sleeping.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15 (cont'd):
Meanwhile, Melania searches for a new flat. She thinks that either prices have gone up or she is missing the best deals, but she finds a room in a tenement in the Docks District at a reasonable rate. The place isn't great, but the apartment is in a neighborhood that is somewhat nicer because it's near the Merchants District. In any event, the price is acceptable, and it has the perks of a live-in landlord and a decent looking tavern and eatery down the street. She settles in, unpacks, and heads to the tavern to get some food and catch up on the gossip.

She first shares a drink with a stranger and gossips about much the same news as Lhovrik and Ginara heard from their mother, although with a slightly different emphasis. Her drinking partner is quick to imply that if she's Vergdunian, she should stay away from priests of any religion if she wants to stay safe, and is rather more excited about the prospects of a festival with free beer at the governor's installation than about the larger political issues. Melania notes with interest the military background of the new governor. Maybe Sister Aurora was right to think that war with Nusaybia is coming.

After a while in the tavern, a reasonably well-dressed, portly middle-aged man approaches her table. "Mind if I join you?"

Melania gestures at the seat. "Everyone's welcome in a public tavern, last I checked. Suit yourself." She looks him over. He's better dressed than most of the people in the tavern, wearing clothes similar in quality to her own. But if he's a legitimate merchant, he's slumming for a meal. "What's your name, stranger?"

"The name's Lathan." He comes straight to the point. "I hear you know some people who might be interested in buying some magics, Melania."

"Maybe. What sorts of magics?"

"Oh, I've got all kinds of things. Some wands, some scrolls, a few specialty items. I can probably also get specific things, if you know of buyers for them."

"These wouldn't be stolen, would they?"

Lathan feigns shock. "Of course not. All of these are perfectly legitimate. And don't worry, they're fully paid up." Melania isn't quite sure what to make of the last comment, but she's pretty sure that the only question about Lathan is whether he's a fence or a smuggler. "Anyway, it's a good time to buy. The new governor has a lot of cronies who like having magics that provide some kick in a fight, if you know what I mean, and I could get you some wands they might be interested in buying later."

"I'll think about it, and let you know if I find anyone who's interested. How could I find you, Lathan?"

"I stop in here a time or two most days. You could probably meet me that way."

Across town, the Second Dro Sanek Lancers practice their maneuvers in one of the training fields. A block of cavalry carefully wheels, then charges, then wheels again. Ensign Vannser cath Elbesar is posted at the front left corner, while his superior, Lieutenant Devon cath Nortis rides at the right front and commands the detachment. After they finish up their drills, the men are sent to water and feed their horses. The officers hand their horses off to aides, and at the behest of one of the other horsemen head to see their captain. As they enter the captain's command center, he looks up and smiles. "I have a message for the two of you." He hands across a piece of parchment, creased shut, with a wax seal showing a symbol similar to the arms of the city.

Lieutenant cath Nortis obviously recognizes the seal. Before breaking it, he pulls out a gold coin and taps it against the wax. When he does, a small illusion of the seal appears, floating above the wax and vividly green. The lieutenant shrugs apologetically at the captain, who just smiles in response.

"Excuse me, sir. May I ask...."

"The Lieutenant was verifying the message's authenticity."

The lieutenant smiles in response to the writing in the parchment and passes it over to Vannser. The message inside is brief and to the point:

Lieutenant Devon cath Nortis
Ensign Vannser cath Elbesar

His Lordship the Commander of the Garrison of Dro Sanek requests and requires that you report to him for duty at daybreak tomorrow, the 26th day of Fifmonth. You are to report to service on his staff until you receive further orders.

The Captain smiles at them. "I have been informed separately of your new assignment. Congratulations to both of you."

The officers shake hands with their now former commander and head out.

Devon turns to Vannser. "I know you've been hoping for your lieutenancy, but this is a great opportunity for both of us. No better way to get a promotion than to be on the Commander's staff, and they often assign staff officers out for special tasks that are a great place to win glory and promotion. This is a fine thing for both of us."

Vannser smiles in return. It is good news, but it's a much bigger opportunity for Devon. After all, company commands are rare indeed; many lieutenants never get promoted. On the other hand, Vannser's promotion is starting to be a little overdue. He's not yet behind the average ensign, but if he were on a fast track he would have been promoted a few years ago. Devon is only four years older than Vannser, but he has seven years of seniority as a lieutenant.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15 (cont'd):

In a nearby barracks, Dove reports back to her unit. The duty officer smiles at her approach. "Good to see you back, Skyrnath! The captain will want to see you right away, so head on in."

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back."

Dove heads into her captain's office and comes to attention.

"Welcome back, Dovkania. I hear from Sir Theron that you acquitted yourself well on your duties." The captain gestures at her with a piece of parchment covered with writing. "I expected no less."

"Thank you, sir." Dove smiles with pride.

"I want to talk to you a little about where you want to go from here. Sir Theron recommends you for promotion, and I agree. I'm short a sergeant right now, and I want to offer you the position."

"Thank you, sir. I'm honored, sir."

The captain smiles at Dove. "I hope you'll take the position as a sergeant, but Sir Theron wanted me to tell you about some other options as well. Sir Theron thought that you might be a better fit for special services. I'd rather see you as a proper sergeant, but it's not my place to not pass on a Champion's suggestions.

"I could also probably get you a position as an ensign. I won't make you an ensign in my company-- it's bad for morale to promote officers out of the ranks. But I have some friends who command other companies who could probably find a place for you. Of course, you would be older than most of the other ensigns. Most of them start out young, when they don't know which side of a sword to hold, but they learn a lot about command from that. It'll be tough for you to get promotions, but I could get you that position if you really want."

Dove thinks about the possibilities. The special troops take care of dangerous, important missions: attacking enemy officers in their camps, retrieving strategically important magic items, killing dragons and other great threats on the battlefield. A lot of the troops assigned to those duties end up dead, but those assignments make heroes and Champions as well. "Do you have a recommendation, sir?"

"If it were my choice, I'd have you as one of my sergeants. You'll do a good job and have a fine career. There's nothing wrong with the sorts of work that Sir Theron and his types do, but that's not what keeps the Empire safe. It's not the sort of honest work defending the Empire that real soldiers do. As for becoming an officer... competing with caths, and starting out a little older... it will be tough for you. I put more weight on what a person can do than on who their parents are, but nobles are most of the officers for a reason, and it's not a bad reason either."

"Can I have some time to think about it, sir?"

"Take as long as you want. I'm going to fill the sergeant position within a fortnight; it's yours if you want it, but if you don't take it by then I'll give it to someone else. If you decide you want it later, I'll give you the next free promotion I have, but it could be months, and believe me, the sooner you get the seniority to not be the junior-most sergeant, the happier you'll be. So take as much time as you need, but let me know as soon as you can."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed."

Sister Aurora enters the great temple complex that is her home and seeks out her mentor, Father Daybreak. She assures him that she will file a report that is as complete as the Empire will permit soon, and they discuss the continuing troubles with the Vergdunians. While both Father Daybreak and Sister Aurora approve in principle of evangelism, Father Daybreak expresses his concerns that some of the younger priests have been getting themselves into trouble. Fortunately, none of the prosyletizing priests have been killed.

After discussing the news, Father Daybreak raises a different topic. "I've been quite pleased with your progress in your studies and faith. If you feel ready, Sister Aurora, you can be ordained during Luirta's holy days in a month."

Sister Aurora reacts with delight. "Oh, thank you. That will be an honor."

"You'll need to concentrate on your liturgical studies to prepare for the ordination ceremony. And then, of course, we'll schedule you to lead your first service soon after the ordination. I'm afraid that you won't be able to preach a major service in the cathedral. Those spots are very hard to get."

"And I'm not a cath and don't have powerful friends."

"Indeed. But you can lead a service at one of the parish churches, or we could probably schedule you for a more minor service at one of the cathedral chapels, I think. You should start thinking about what readings you would like to write your homily about, because that will affect when we should schedule a service for you to lead. You'll want to spend plenty of time working on your homily. You want your first one to be memorable."

"Oh, of course. I'll start thinking about it right away."

"Good. We can talk about the details further as your ordination approaches."

Having put off dealing with their family as long as they can, Sister Aurora and Dove finally stop by their parents' house. Their parents are very happy to see them again. They quickly notice some changes in the household staff. Their old nursemaid has been pensioned off, because Aurora and Dove's older sister, Desithia, insisted that she needed a new maid to help with the wedding preparations, and the family could not afford a fourth servant. Their mother expects that Desithia will take Marna, her new halfling maidservant, with her when she sets up her own household after the wedding. After mentioning the new governor, Madame Skyrnath quickly turns to matters related to their older sister's impending wedding. Both of the younger daughters are surprised that even the installation of a new governor would delay the wedding, but their mother explains that it would be impossible for any other social event to make much of an impression if it was too close to the installation. Even three weeks later, the wedding will be a little overshadowed.

Sister Aurora brightens at a thought. "Maybe, since it's already been delayed, Desi could wait another couple of weeks. Then I could perform the ceremony, after I've been ordained."

"Maybe, Dai, but you know how much your sister's looking forward to being married. She probably won't want to delay it again. And the priest we found for the ceremony has such a nice voice... Oh, both of you should plan on coming to dinner here tomorrow night. It will be a good opportunity to meet Desi's fiancé. And maybe he could bring one of his brother officers, as well." Madame Skyrnath looks thoughtfully at Sister Aurora. "Unless you would prefer to invite young Lhovrik cath Kalissar..."

"I suppose bringing another young officer could be good for Dove's career advancement. He would be a useful contact."

Some further discussion ensues, while Sister Aurora almost willfully fails to take a hint about why her mother is discussing various possible other guests for the party. Dove expresses her own amusement and decides to invite Ginara to join them, prompting Sister Aurora to agree to invite Lhovrik. Sister Aurora also suggests that her mother employ Melania for musical entertainment during the party, partially as an audition for the much bigger job of providing wedding music.

Dove writes a note to Ginara, while Sister Aurora writes out a confused invitation telling Lhovrik that he should come to dinner tomorrow, either because he's going to be recruited for the army or "because of that other awkward thing I mentioned before."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15 (cont'd):
5/26

Before the dinner the next day, a few people take care of some errands. Ginara drops in on Kinric to report on her trip to the North. Kinric gives her a hard hug when she enters and then sends his guard to the end of the hall so that they can talk in private. Ginara quickly describes all of the events in the North, while Kinric asks occasional clarifying questions.

"I wish we had been able to figure out more about Brother Moreth's death."

"Indeed. Especially because of the connection to the Nusaybian Royal Guard."

"Do you think he was killed by the Nusaybians?"

"It's hard to tell. Former Royal Guardsmen are popular as bodyguards, so he could simply have been working for a noble or a wealthy merchant."

"He did seem old enough that he could have been retired."

"And I don't usually send agents with tattoos on foreign operations. Still, it's troubling. It also means I should watch the Aretash more closely. If he was involved in something nefarious..."

"Oh, I don't think he was doing anything wrong. I just feel bad. He was our travelling companion, and then he died."

Kinric looks at Ginara, and says with a kindly voice, "People die in our line of work, Ginara. It's best that you get used to that while you're young. It's sad when good people die, and if he was a loyal imperial subject, I can assure you we'll do what we can to avenge him. But even if he was, you can't get too upset about it. And if he wasn't, then he was no friend of yours, no matter what you may have thought."

Ginara pauses while she thinks about this. "Uncle Kinric... is there going to be a war with Nusaybia?"

Kinric frowns. "You know I can't answer that."

"There have been a lot of problems, and I'm worried that we might be going to war. The effort with the dragon in the North, and the new governor..."

"There are serious problems with Nusaybia. They refuse to honor the trade embargo with the Kobold Empire, and their trade strengthens our most serious enemies. There are even those who say that they support the Kobold slave-taking. If the conflicts over their smuggling continue, it may well escalate into war."

After some further discussion, Kinric turns to some more pleasant discussions. "The installation of the new governor will also be an important social occasion. You should attend some of the festivities; it's important to get used to it."

Ginara rolls her eyes, "Yeah, getting used to the silly social obligations of being a cath."

Kinric smiles wryly. "I meant that it's important to get used to functioning well at state events in our line of work."

"Oh!" Ginara brightens up. "I hadn't thought about that."

"I should, I'm afraid, turn back to work for now. I'll let you know if I find out anything about Brother Moreth's death." Kinric hugs Ginara again as she prepares to leave. "It's good to have you safely back from your trip."

Later the same day, Melania seeks out Gwert and makes another payment of 10 gold on her debt.

That evening, the Skyrnath household bustles with activity as the family prepares for the dinner. Melania arrives fairly early at the servants' entrance and is shown in by Marna, who takes care of setting up an appropriate place for Melania to play from and explaining the schedule for the music at the dinner. Dove and Aurora also show up quite early. Dove wears her finest tabard, with the arms of her unit emblazoned on it. Aurora wears her summer robes, which are still in good shape because she has been wearing the heavier weight robes since she took her current order. Madame Datellia Skyrnath looks at her daughters, and with a sigh says to Dove, "Would it hurt you so much to wear a dress sometimes? And did you really need to wear your swords to dinner?"

"I agreed to wear a dress for the wedding! And he's an officer. He'll be impressed to see me in a uniform."

Madame Skyrnath sighs. "I suppose it will have to do."

Aurora broaches the subject of officiating at the wedding to her sister Desithia.

"I'm sorry, Dai, but I really don't want to delay the wedding any further. Besides, Mother has already gone to great efforts to arrange for a priest who will do a really fine job with the wedding, and it's important that we impress my new in-laws. You know how much Mother cares about making an impression."

The rejection feels very bitter to Aurora, but she tries to put on a brave face anyway.

Lhovrik and Ginara are the next to arrive. The Skyrnath parents greet Lord Lhovrik effusively and Ginara with reasonable warmth, and the Skyrnath children quickly begin talking with their friends, while Desithia stands a little apart. Melania gracefully plays incidental music, but not loudly enough to interfere with conversation.

After a few minutes of conversation, the Skyrnath's butler steps into the room to formally announce an arrival: "His Lordship, Ensign Lord Vannser cath Elbesar."

Vannser strides gracefully into the room, wearing a dress cavalry officer's uniform that bears the arms of both his unit and his family. A fine longsword hangs comfortably from his hip. As his name is announced, Melania stumbles in her playing. Aurora, Lhovrik, and Ginara all glance over at Melania in surprise; while she has not made any terrible mistakes, her performances usually do not include errors as bad as what they just heard. At the same time, Dove notices that Vannser's easy smile stiffens as he notices who the musician is.

Vannser greets Desithia and his future parents-in-law, and Madame Skyrnath promptly introduces him to her other daughters and their guests. Vannser compliments Dove on her fine sword, and she mentions having won it in battle on an expedition to the North with her friends. Meanwhile, Lhovrik and Aurora quietly but enthusiastically discuss Melania's unusual reaction to Vannser's entrance, trying to figure out what caused it. Madame Skyrnath looks around at the party, as the servants bring around trays of canapes, and is momentarily disappointed to notice that Aurora has made little effort to meet Vannser. But then she realizes that Aurora isn't paying any attention to her sister's future husband because she's too busy spending time with Lhovrik, and her discontent turns into a broad smile. When Dove and Ginara get a chance to talk privately, they quietly exchange their own observations about Vannser and Melania, punctuated by discussions of clothing, with Ginara grumbling about having to wear a dress while Dove exults in wearing a uniform and wonders whether she could get away with a uniform for the wedding.

After a few minutes of conversation, the party proceeds into dinner. As usual for Skyrnath events, the linens are of the highest quality, rather nicer than the rest of the place settings. The dinner is good, but not exceptional, because the Skyrnaths cannot afford a truly elite cook. But they have pulled out all the stops to impress their noble guests and have been successful enough.

Vannser asks the others about their trip to the North, and Lhovrik is almost standoffish in his refusal to describe any information about it, even to the level of whether he played a diplomatic, military, or mystic role in it. Ginara, annoyed by her brother's behavior, talks some about the fights against the kobolds in the north, reasoning that conflict with kobolds is not really much of a secret.

The group also asks Vannser about his military experience, and he explains that his unit has fought several engagements with local bandits. The outgoing governor is very serious about suppressing banditry and other threats to trade; at the first reports of bandit activity, a group of rangers, much like Dove's company, are sent to flush the bandits out, while a detachment of cavalry waits on the roads and in the fields to destroy the bandits when the footsoldiers force them out of the safety of the forests. Vannser has been on several such expeditions. He also mentions his new assignment and the increased opportunities for promotion that it promises.

Aurora turns to Vannser and asks without preamble whether he thinks there will be war with Nusaybia. Her parents blanch a little, but Vannser handles it in stride, saying that the new governor and some of the preparations could be in case of war, but that there has not been the large military buildup that would be expected if war is imminent. He also assures them that the military is ready to defend the Empire, and that if war comes, the Empire will surely win easily. The discussion of the new governor leads to a segue into politics. Prompted by a question from his daughters, Gerrod Skyrnath mentions his concerns about the new governor. Governor cath Varish has been a very effective leader from the perspective of the family's business, providing for smooth and profitable trade both locally and abroad. He also discusses the more immediate concerns: they will be expected to give their workers a paid holiday for the festivities around the installation. At the same time, many people will want to commission fancy new clothing, so the family business will probably profit from the festivities overall, even with the loss of work on the holiday itself. The real question is whether the new governor will be as effective a leader. Sir Korel has a good reputation, but has less of an orientation towards commerce.

After dinner, the group begins to disperse. Before leaving, Vannser carefully mentions to both Desithia and her parents that he was not very pleased with the musician, and they assure him that they will find a different musician for the wedding. Lhovrik kisses Aurora's hand before departing, leaving a flustered Aurora and a beaming Madame Skyrnath.

After the dinner, Aurora goes into the kitchen, where Melania is sharing a dinner with the servants, to find out whether something is wrong. Melania explains that she used to know Vannser and that his presence surprised her, and Aurora accepts this explanation without questioning further. Aurora then proceeds to ask Melania for advice on figuring out what to make of Lhovrik's sudden displays of interest, after how rude he has been before. Melania replies that she thinks that Lhovrik is interested in Aurora, although perhaps with a certain amount of confusion, and asks whether Aurora is interested in Lhovrik. This question stumps Aurora, who is very confused and hapless, while Melania is simply glad that the conversation is no longer about her. After some further efforts to help sort out what Aurora feels, Melania heads home to be alone with her own mixed feelings.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15 (cont'd):

5/27

The next day passes uneventfully. The group continues to attend to the transition back into the life of the city, taking care of various routine tasks that did not merit dealing with as soon as they returned. In addition, they train rigorously, to try to master some of the skills that they developed on the trip to the North. They arrange to meet in the afternoon of the following day to look into having Lhovrik's instructor in wizardry, Master Verifax, identify the magic that they gained on the trip to the North.

5/28

Early in the morning, a message reaches Aurora at the temple and Dove at her barracks, asking each of them to come to their parents' house as soon as they can. They both hurry home and find their parents waiting for them, worrying.

"Do you know where Desi is?"

Aurora startles in response to the unexpected question. "No... what do you mean?"

Her father responds more calmly but with an undertone of concern, "Desi wasn't in her room this morning. We fear that she didn't come home last night, and we don't know where she is."

Dove asks, "What about Marna, her new halfling maid? Does she know anything?"

Their mother sighs. "Marna isn't here either. She occasionally spends the night with her family, but usually is here."

Gerrod Skyrnath continues, almost as if thinking aloud, "We didn't even notice that she didn't come in last night, just that she wasn't here in the morning. It's probably nothing... she probably just spent the night with Vannser. They haven't before, but of course we don't disapprove of a night with a young man, especially when that young man is her fiancé. But it would be terribly . . . awkward if we inquired after her with Vannser and she hadn't been with him."

Aurora and Dove quickly determine that the last time anyone definitely saw Desi was in the late afternoon the day before, when she went on some errands with Marna in preparation for the wedding. Master Skyrnath knows that she visited his shop to consult with one of the senior employees on the tablecloths for the reception.

Aurora's suspicion quickly turns to Marna, the new servant. She asks the butler for his opinion of Marna.

"Marna is a good enough servant, although she hasn't yet learned a proper sense of decorum. I've had to chide her a few times about being too obtrusive in her efforts. Still, she keeps Mistress Desithia's room well and is competent in her duties."

"How long has she been here?"

"Some few weeks. When we needed a new servant, your mother asked around among her friends, Mistress Daimonia. One of them had briefly employed Marna, the daughter of their long-time servant, to help with entertaining some guests who were visiting for a few weeks. They no longer needed her services, but recommended her well, so your mother hired her on to assist Mistress Desithia." The butler quickly gives Aurora Marna's mother's address and the name of the family that recommended her.

Dove, meanwhile, searches Desi's room. The bed is made, and the room appears to be in order. A small amount of jewelry is missing, including one of Desi's favorite necklaces, but their mother thinks that Desi was wearing that necklace the previous day. There are no signs of a break-in or struggle. Aurora takes one of Desi's scarves, in case they need to scry on her.

Dove and Aurora head to their father's shop, because that's the last place they know Desi went. Merrik, one of their father's most senior tailors, greets them warmly as they come in. "Mistress Daimonia, Mistress Dovkania, so good to see you. Are you here about the wedding preparations? I hadn't planned on fitting you today."

"Good day, Merrik," Sister Aurora responds. "You know that I prefer to be called Sister Aurora."

He smiles. "I do know that, Mistress Daimonia, and someday I'm sure that I shall call you that, but as long as your father calls you 'Dai,' it behooves me to call you 'Mistress Daimonia.'"

"Soon, I'll have to ask people to call me Mother Aurora."

"Indeed? Congratulations on your impending ordination." Merrik begins looking through some ornate fabrics. "We shall have to prepare formal vestments for you. No daughter of the Skyrnaths will be ordained in common robes bought from a rack..."

Dove interrupts. "I'm sure that Aurora will be happy to come back to get her robes ready. But we have more important things to worry about right now. Did you see Desi yesterday?"

"Indeed I did. Mistress Desithia came by with her halfling maidservant to work on picking out the fabrics to be used for the tablecloths and placesettings."

"Do you remember when that was?"

"Midafternoon, I should think. Why do you ask?"

"Desi didn't come home last night, and we're worried about her. This shop is the last place we know she went."

"Oh, my. I do hope she's alright. Perhaps she went to visit with her young lord?"

"Perhaps. But we'd like to figure out where she went."

"I'm afraid I don't know where she went when she left here. I think she may have headed towards the Docks, but as you know, there are any number of different stores between here and the end of the Merchants Quarter."

Dove and Aurora thank Merrik for his assistance and head out. They ask a few of the street vendors whether they remember seeing Desi, but their father's shop is on a busy road, and a well-dressed young woman with a halfling servant is simply not remarkable enough to be remembered.

The sisters travel to Marna's family's flat in the halfling quarter and speak briefly with Marna's younger brother, but he is unable to tell them anything useful. They do convince him to give them a piece of Marna's clothing, again for scrying purposes. By this point, they are very late to meet their friends to discuss the magic they got in the North.

At Dro Sanek, Ensign Vannser cath Elbesar works on some of the routine paperwork that junior officers on the commander's staff frequently need to deal with. Late in the morning, a messenger delivers a short message from Vannser's father, requesting that he come home during lunch. After finishing up the morning's work, Vannser heads to his father's townhouse in one of the nice areas of the Castle District that is filled with successful officers' homes.

"Ah! I'm glad you got my message. A letter was delivered for you this morning. I thought you should see it as soon as possible."

Vannser follows his father's gesture and sees a plain, sealed letter waiting for him. The letter has a plain, unornamented wax seal that gives no indication of who sent it and also has the words "Urgent" and "Private" written on the outside, in addition to Vannser's name.

Vannser breaks the seal and quickly scans the message within:

We have your fiancee, as you can see from the scrap enclosed. If you wish to see her again, come alone to the Imperial Arms and bring one of the Commander's Seals at noon tomorrow.

Included within the letter is a small scrap cut from a dress. Vannser tries to remember whether he has seen Desithia wearing a dress made of that material, but is sure that the message is real.

He immediately shows the letter to his father. "What do you think I should do?"

His father sighs. "You can't do what they ask. Giving them one of the Commander's Seals would be treason. The proper thing to do would be to go to the Inquisitors. But if you do that, your fiancee will almost surely die. You probably can handle it yourself. If you can rescue her and deal with the threat quickly, people will overlook the irregularities."

"Do you think the Inquisitors would care about this kidnapping?"

"Because the kidnappers asked for the Commander's Seal... The Inquisitors investigate a lot of ordinary crimes, but they exist to handle threats to the Empire. Preventing one of the Commander's Seals from falling into the wrong hands would be their top priority. Worrying about Desithia's safety would not be nearly as important to them."

Vannser quickly sends a message to Dove at her company, asking her to meet him that evening, as soon as he finishes his duties for the day. He then returns to finish his tasks for the day.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Meanwhile, Lhovrik, Ginara, and Melania have been meeting with Master Verifax, Lhovrik's instructor. Even at the special rate that he offers to the cath Kalissar family, it would cost several hundred gold to have him identify all of their finds. Lhovrik decides to simply have Master Verifax teach him the spell to identify magic. Master Verifax also agrees to attempt to identify the potions they recovered through mundane means.

They spend a while talking, wondering what has been delaying Aurora and Dove. Eventually, Dove and Aurora arrive and bring their friends up to speed. They quickly agree on dividing up further investigation. They worry that the kidnapping may be motivated by some of their enemies. Vergdunians? Or maybe Sildra, the thief and fence from whom they recovered the Galerian statuette. Melania thinks that Sildra might be acting for revenge, but that it is unlikely because there's no way for her to profit from it. Still, they need to chase the leads they have. Lhovrik asks the butler whether his mother is available, but finds out that she is enchanting an item and cannot be disturbed to perform a scrying.

Lhovrik travels to the Inquisitor's building and asks to speak with Inquisitor Telan, because he has become aware of another kidnapping. He is sent into an office with no windows, where an Inquisitor-- it could be Telan, but how can he tell with the hood and face mask in place-- greets him and refers to a file. Lhovrik can see that the file has to do with the Vergdunians. He presses both on the question of any recent kidnappings, but also prods about whether the Inquisitors have arrested Talin Crelith, at which point the Inquisitor stops talking. Lhovrik is finally shown out.

Aurora, Dove, Melania, and Ginara head to speak with Marna's mother at her employer's place. Marna's mother is very dismayed to hear that there is a problem with Marna. Marna was always a good child. Marna started working a little later than would have been ideal for the family, but after her older brother started working she needed to take care of her younger siblings. Marna's mother works long hours, so the oldest child needs to take care of the younger children. It was also difficult for Marna to find work; the competition is fierce, and of course, there's always competition from people who buy help. "Not that there's anything wrong with that-- I got my start with this family as a debt-slave, before I worked my way to freedom."

Sister Aurora asks the difficult questions. "Did Marna have a boyfriend or other close friends?"

"There were lads who she would see sometiems. No one particularly special."

"What about her older brother? Maybe he's seen her more recently."

"I don't know. We don't see him very much." She seems upset to be talking about her son.

"Who does he work for?"

"Hedron Minor cath Veda. He's an officer. My husband used to work for his father." No one recognizes the noble's name, but at least it's a further lead. They head off to speak with the brother.

"What do you suppose the oddness about her son was?" Dove asks.

"Her son's a slave! That's what she was embarrassed about." Sister Aurora explains authoritatively.

"I'm not sure about that," Melania responds. "Most officers don't use slaves for servants. In a dangerous situation, they want someone they can trust."

They travel to meet Hedron Minor cath Veda. Hedron is a young officer, and meets them with Marna's brother. He refuses to allow them to speak to Marna's brother without him. They ask Marna's brothers a series of questions about Marna but fail to find out anything useful. Hedron Minor wishes them success. He cares about Marna's brother. "I was surprised when he asked me if I needed a servant. Of course I said yes."

"Why were you surprised?" asks Sister Aurora.

"Because his father was working for my father when they were killed. My father was an officer in the Kobold War. They often attacked the officers. The fireball killed his father as well."

Dove meets with Vannser, who shows her the letter. He asks her to bring in her sister and the cath Kalissars. When they meet up, Melania is there as well, to Vannser's chagrin. Sister Aurora and Dove are suprised to find out that the kidnapping was about Vannser, not about them. They examine the letter, but find out little. Ginara can tell that whoever wrote it is fully literate, but not a scribe or someone else with a particularly practiced hand. Lhovrik detects magic, but the note comes up clean. Lady cath Kalissar has finished her tasks for the day, so Lhovrik asks her to scry on the owners of the two items. She agrees, and takes him into her lab, where she moves back the lead barrier with a gesture and then activates her crystal ball. Even with her ability, she is unable to produce an image for either of them. "I'm sorry, dear. They must be shielded," Lhovrik's mother gestures at the lead barriers she maintains to prevent scrying on her house. "Assuming the best, of course."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Session 15, cont'd:

They quickly decide that Kinric is the best option they have.

Ginara leads Dove and Vannser to see Kinric. He was just about to leave when she arrives, but immediately returns to his office and sends the guard to the end of the hall, figuring that whatever brought the group here has to be important. They explain the situation.

"Oh, f**k." Kinric grimaces. "Let me see the note." He fishes out a small lens from a drawer. "No magic on the note."

"Any idea of who could be behind it?"

"The problem is there are too many suspects. It could be simple greed; one of the Commander's Seals would sell for tens of thousands of gold. But it would be difficult to sell a Seal. It's much more likely that the plot is coming from someone who is an enemy of the Empire. Could be the kobolds. Could be the Nusaybians. Could be someone else. The handwriting on the note isn't in the Nusaybian style-- they shape their 'e's a little differently than we do. But that could be someone who has been in the Empire for a long time."

"Do you think they thought he might actually go along with it?"

"People do stupid things to protect their loved ones. Besides, they might actually release her if he brought a Seal. In addition to the Seal's value, they would then own him, since they would have blackmail information that would get Vannser executed if it were ever released. That's probably worth the risk of letting Desithia go. She might be alive because of that." Dove blanches at the implicationg that Desi might already be dead or might be killed soon.

"What can we do? Could we send a fake Seal?"

"Sure, I could have something that looks like a Seal made. But I can't have it enchanted; any seal that produced the magic effect of one of the real Seals would be too dangerous. If that fell into enemy hands... thousands of people could die."

Vannser speaks up. "Maybe you could send someone to follow the person I'm supposed to meet?"

"Maybe. But it's dangerous. A lot of my people in the city are known to work for me. If any of them are spotted, they'll kill Desithia. It would be better if you handled it. The sisters would be recognized, but it would be possible for some of the rest of you to watch the meeting."

Vannser thinks aloud. "I could play for time, I guess. Try to get them to take me to her, to show me that she's alive."

Kinric nods. "I can take care of some of the problems afterwards, if questions are raised about why you didn't go to the Inquisitors. In a sense, you did go to the appropriate authorities. But you'll need to get her back, and quickly."

With that cheerful thought, the group leaves, to think and plan.

End of Session 15