Oppression vs. Ambition

[Eric Zephlaer]

Whiron snickers quietly. “I said that I had an idea, but I was not certain. We should probably continue to fill one container each, anyway.” He turns to the woman. “You are the second person in this season to warn us of the clergy. I am inclined to believe you, just from instinct. I am carrying several measures of Tranquility. I can trade that for our baths. We can also check with you on such substances before reporting to the Pavilion, if you are so inclined to deal.”

OOC: d10 = 8, 2

 

[MacConnell]

Cycle: 503, Day: 181, Season: Doldrums

Spoiler: Snares & Prospecting

Jalakaag: 13(observe) + 34(clairaudience) + 5, 9(d10) = 18, 22, 52, 56
Whiron: 32 + 34(olfaction) + 2, 8 = 34, 40, 68, 74

The woman seems to be completely trustworthy. She trades her services for 6 measures of Tranquility, which includes a scented bath and a bather. She does not do the bathing herself. She has employees for that. Since the two young men are able to keep the water consistently warm of their own talent, the soak is the most relaxed the two have ever felt, but life goes on. Because they are able to do so and it feels appropriate, each gives a coin as a tip to his bather before leaving.

The last Tenday of the Harvest Season is when the sugar cane is collected. Because this requires the use of a sword, there is an excessive number of guards in the Flats. Each resident who is given a cane sword must return it at the end of the workday. Failure to do so will result in death. This presence inspires the two to travel downstream in the hope to avoid any contact. There is an odd grass that grows in the marsh called Stone Head. Instead of the usual aggregate seed head at the top of the blade, each cluster of this grass produces a nut. The two are able to collect a satchel of these nuts. They are also able to collect two satchels of flowers called Ruby Bloom that are used to make a red dye.

The animal fare is routine, and nothing never before collected is harvested. The only hitch is similar to the previous outing but seemingly stranger. At one point, a skiff pulls onto the berm where the two are stationed. The craft is manned by a single Ansylin man who appears to have about 10 cycles on the two friends. He removes his hat and wipes his brow before replacing it. His head is shaved and his arms are marked with ritualistic scarring. The man is obviously dangerous but appears calm, even friendly.

“I see by the otter skulls upon your skiff that you two have made arrangements with the River Otters.” He pauses for half a second. “But you are not in their territory. This area belongs to the Marsh Vipers. I am here to negotiate an arrangement on their behalf.”

Spoiler: Character Data

Jalakaag: full wellness
Whiron: full wellness

Spoiler: Inventory

coins: 24: cast net, hoop net, fish trap

caustic leaf: 1 measure, {ionize x3}
fireweed: 8 measures, {heat x2}, 1 per satchel
invigorate: 8 measures, {adrenaline x3}, 5 per measure
mend: 10 measures, {restore x3}, 5 per measure
muddle: 9 measures, {taint x2}, 1 per measure
stimulate: 1 measures, {adrenaline x2}, 2 per measure
tranquility: 5 measures, 5 per measure

fist-sized snail shells: 10, 1 coin each

Spoiler: Discoveries

Samudraa: Bathhouse Woman
Luterrio: River Otter Guild Leader
Unknown Elderly Ansylin Man
Wharf Rat Gangers

GM: Jalakaag improved in Strength. Whiron improved in the inexplicable reason for sentience (Adhesion).

OOC: State preparations and intentions and provide two random rolls(d10) or reprint unused rolls.

 

[MacConnell]

Jalakaag cracks his knuckles and clenches his fists. He is becoming angry with all of the extortion. He does not look for Whiron this time. He is really tempted to simply charge the man and throw caution to the wind. Not being a complete fool controlled by emotion, the thing giving him the slightest inclination of pause is the fact that the man is alone. Alone means competence, danger.

OOC: d10 = 8, 3

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Whiron removes his hat and drops it on the grass. He is irritated by all of the graft. “What? Is the entire world governed by extortion? Does no one make his own wage? I suppose you are going to kill us, when we refuse to pay?”

OOC: d10 = 1, 5

 

[MacConnell]

Solnechnyy strolled into the office belonging to Karef Gyenin, Magister of the Artisan District, giving his burgundy robe extra flare as he moved. He had become so accustomed to flaring his robe for its effect in the eyes of the public that he no longer gave it a conscious thought. He simply did it. He removed his burnished yellow hat and shook his long, coal black hair. He was not the petty sort of man who gained a measure of imagined power by having people come to him. He preferred the power of his own presence when he arrived, unannounced, for he was the Radiant Voice of the Burning Sun, the top person in the religion.

Magister Karef was not a man to be intimidated. He stood in his initial reaction prepared to kill the intruder but calmed as quickly as he rose. “How may I help His Radiance this day?”

There was no other place to sit within the small room other than the chair from which the Magister rose. Solnechnyy dropped his hat on a table. “It has come to my attention that your replacement for the Magister of the Brewer District has quite a temper. He may not be the best choice to further our plans.”

Karef sat back down and took a drink of water. There was a tension in the air. The two men were not friends but neither were they enemies. They were colleagues with a common goal. “He is not best. His temper is useful for the moment and I know how to fulfill his needs to control him. We both understood that this plan would take time. Vieri Hadrin is a short-sighted tool, even a distraction to make the furtherance of our plan less noticeable.”

Solnechnyy replaced his hat and prepared to leave. “Do see that he does not burn anything, especially us.”

 

[MacConnell]

Cycle: 503, Day: 181, Season: Doldrums

Spoiler: Negotiate

Jalakaag: 13(coerce) + 33(muddle) + 8(d10) = 54
Whiron: 32 + 34(allure) + 1 = 67

The man does not bodily react or smile or change his facial expression in any manner. When he speaks, it is absent emotion. “Yes, the whole world is governed by extortion. We pay to vote for a stranger, whether we vote or not. We pay for protection we do not receive. We pay for drinking water. No, I have no intention to kill you. Corpses make no income. Normally, I would simply hurt you and take your catch, but you two are different from all others. You are also far more successful than anyone else I have seen. You have come to our attention because you have been witnessed delivering food to your parents. Very few others are able to do that.”

He moves closer so that he can better see the two and better be seen, without the taller grasses obscuring the view. “Because of your nature, I will tell you a truth. Not every Auntie or Uncle remains a parent. We see to it that more of the elderly are fed. As a group, our guild is not interested in profiting from the current status of life. We hope to change it, though it will likely take another two generations to see a real difference.”

He draws a blade from behind his back and displays it. It looks like the head of a javelin that has been repurposed into a small sword that can be concealed. “I took this from a guard who was forcing himself onto one of our resident girls, after I killed him. There are still too many guards, and they are all armed. We work in secret and equip ourselves with the blades of their fallen. The guards are nothing more than sanctioned thugs. I want them afraid to leave the Pavilion without our need to fear a mass extermination.”

He returns the sword to its hiding place. “Can you read? Of course not, no one outside the government can read. I am sure that you have already realized that there is no way to track your donations to the River Otters, which are only made once or twice in a Tenday. Here is my unique offer: Help us by the occasional donation of fish. Teach some of us your trick for catching fish; and in return, we will teach you to better defend yourselves from the javelineers.”

Spoiler: Character Data

Jalakaag: full wellness
Whiron: full wellness

Spoiler: Inventory

coins: 24: cast net, hoop net, fish trap

caustic leaf: 1 measure, {ionize x3}
fireweed: 8 measures, {heat x2}, 1 per satchel
invigorate: 8 measures, {adrenaline x3}, 5 per measure
mend: 10 measures, {restore x3}, 5 per measure
muddle: 9 measures, {taint x2}, 1 per measure
stimulate: 1 measures, {adrenaline x2}, 2 per measure
tranquility: 5 measures, 5 per measure

fist-sized snail shells: 10, 1 coin each

Spoiler: Discoveries

Samudraa: Bathhouse Woman
Luterrio: River Otter Guild Leader
Unknown Elderly Ansylin Man
Wharf Rat Gangers

GM: Jalakaag improved in strength (Might). Whiron improved in the inexplicable reason for sentience (Invocation).

OOC: State preparations and intentions and provide two random rolls(d10) or reprint unused rolls.