Spheres of Influence:Rhiannon in Jepardy? GAME

[Tilmamir]

Irwin replies to Airith

Irwin: "I see you are from the Malta area then. You are right to be cautious. All the families in their silly Game are well known. The competitive nature of the Game, not to mention the outstanding effort and wealth spent to out-play each other shines like a beacon to all who are out to make a quick sovereign or fame."

As Relsyn and Inwe look blankly between Airith and Irwin, he continues...
"The Game, as it is called in the Malta upper eschelons, has to do with the status and pecking order of the elite. The parties they throw and gifts given among themselves, not to the needy or poor mind you, the greatness of their houses, the beauty of their gardens... all this plays into some ranking of who are the top socialites, and ultimately the power of the family."

Irwin addresses everyone again...

"The Game is vanity. The wealth squandered is unbelievable. The danger to 'lesser people' is minimal unless you cross them. The Anchient and Venerable Church is above that kind of pettiness, and thus we occasionally are spurned or attacked. Your status, even though working for the museum, will be seen as 'working class' and thus invisible to them."

"Do not worry about that, but do be cautious not to get noticed too much. As they do not talk to each other much, you likely have time to work without being noticed. I also recommend starting at the back door of the palaces first, if you get my meaning."

 

[Tilmamir]

The meeting continues: questions and introductions.

Irwin again looks around to see if there are any more questions...

While you are thinking about what I have said, I believe introductions are in order. Don't you?"

Irwin looks at Relsyn. "Garret is your friend, I believe. A very good man. Please, introduce yourself to your companions and me."

 

[Gwaihir]

Relsyn Saffire - Introduction

"Quite so, Monsignor," responds Relsyn, shifting in his seat to correct his posture, "Though friend is probably not a sufficient word to describe what Father Garret has meant to me, Mentor, Guide, Compass would perhaps do more justice."

He glances briefly at each of the other guests at this strange dinner party and their menagerie--Elven woman with Badger, Halfling man with his smelly dog, the black clad dwarf.

He thinks, smiling to himself "We wont be conspicous at all poking around the rich sections of Malta, leading our merry band of animals about."

He drinks a sip of water from a fancy glass, twisted in some odd way, and speaks.

"My name is Relsyn Saffire, I am originally from here in Antioch and have spent most of my days here, save for some months spent in Arras. I was raised by the scholars of St Macedone in a dormitory not to far from here. I have spent the majority of my life being trained by that order of eminent scholars and am honored to be counted among their number. It is a pl.. " He pauses, " Oh this is my familiar, Jewel." He gestures toward the raven who is perched on one of the rooms shelves not to far from Relsyn. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

 

[Tinuviel]

Introduction

After finishing the food on her plate, Inwe looks around and begins.

"As I am not from around here, and in fact have never entered this city before, all these great family names mean little to me, except that I have heard mention of them before. The group of druids I have been living with in the forest since I was very small has little to do with this competitive world of men. I have been sent in response to a message sent to my mentor and as part of my teaching. The badger with me is Cildar. Really quite nice unless you threaten him."

"As for a question, I do have another: For a staff with such power, would anyone really allow it to be merely shown in a museum?"

 

[Tilmamir]

A response

Irwin, leaning forward a bit and brushing back the wings of white along his temples, looks toward Inwe.

"Ah, a fine point. Would anyone allow it to mearly be shown in a museum? Well, the staff is indeed expected to be powerful, once re-assembled. I do not expect anyone of minor abilities will be able to do anything with it but enjoy its beauty. So it should be safe from most common thievery in our museum.

As for those with 'means' to procure the staff - part of why we want it is to keep it secure from those who would abuse it. We fear its power ourselves, for little is known about what its power is. Once known, the item itself may indeed be a collectors item for other museums, but more likely will remain here. Other retreived items are now in private collections.

As you are elvenkind, I will not take offense at your question as it applies to the Ancient and Venerable Church of the Eternal Flame. We are above using such a noble item for greed or self serving deeds. Materially posessing it, the knowledge of its greatness, and the history of such an item makes me flush with excitement. Allowing all to view it would spread the awe of it."

Indeed, Irwin is flush with extatic heat and pleasure. After a second, he shakes it off and continues.

"Inwe, as for not being in Malta or Antioch, this should not be a problem. As Relsyn has said, he has been here for some time and can help the party if time needs to be spent here. I believe that another of your party has spent time in Malta." He glances toward Airith.

"We chose the party carefully to cover the cities we expect you need to visit."

"As for the competitive world of men, " he pauses to chuckle, " the men of Malta are the most competitive I have ever seen. They are absurdly competitive, but dangerous only to those who are a threat. Again, you should be safe as long as you remain below their view."

 

[Zachian]

"Then I take it that is why I was chosen." Airith says with a grin. "Airith Pipehill from the great city of Malta at your service. I know the city fairly well but I must admit my knowledge is mostly of the shadier side of town if you catch my drift. My four legged familiar and friend here is Smoke. He is generally nice and likes a good scratch on the head." As Airith says this he reaches behind him and scratches the top of Smoke's head.

"I have spent the last couple years or so doing odd jobs for anyone that wants to hire me. Delivering messages, like my ancestors, or retrieving lost or stolen goods. And don't let my stature fool you, I can fight with the best of them and have been known to have a few tricks up my sleave." He takes a drink from his mug and waits for the dwarf to introduce himself.

 

[Tilmamir]

Wrinkle

As all eyes shift toward Wrinkle, he squirms in his chair, his mouth moving, but no sound coming out. He is dressed all in black. He wears heavy leather boots over black baggy pants. He is muscular, armored with black chain mail, and decorated with intricate dwarven leatherwork on his belt and shoulders. As with all dwarves, he is stocky , but tough and lean as well. His beard is well groomed, bound into two tails under his chin, and his dark brown hair is pulled back and bound behind his head at the moment. He is scarred from left eye, to lip, and down into his beard. While grown back, it is evident in his beard that a blade had once gone deeper down toward his neck.

Irwin speaks on Wrinkle's behalf. "This is Wrinkle Waybright. He is a fighter who has worked on my behalf before, and I have asked him to join this party. As you can see…" he points to the scar on Wrinkle's face and neck, " Wrinkle has been in battle before."

"When he came to us, he was in poor shape, and unable to talk. He is from a small enclave of dwarves in the mountains north of Sardinia. Wrinkle comes from a long line of fighter-bards, able to trace his lineage back to the time of Saint Salix. His silence is a tragedy, since his knowledge of lore and song long forgotten elsewhere is great. He is able to communicate, but it will take a bit of practice for you to understand him well."

Wrinkle puts his left hand into a pocket and comes out with what appears to be a fist full of clay. It has a tube out one end, and each joint of his fingers covers a small hole. As he puts it to his mouth and blows, the most unusual sweet whispering sound comes out. A common bar tune jauntily follows and everyone smiles at the tune. A second after the tune ends, the sound coming out seems familiar, language-like.

He looks around, and makes the sound like "yooo eyke ahhh uuuune?" and looks around again…

 

[Tinuviel]

"Yes, that was lovely. Sounds like something I heard while I was walking around town yesterday. You play wonderfully."

 

[Tilmamir]

Where do you want to go?

"Now that introductions are done, you need to determine an initial approach for your search. Let me clarify your goals:
The museum would like you to return the staff and the gem.
We believe the staff is in Malta, if anywhere. We do not know where the gem is.
Update me as you can on your progress.

There are documents here in Antioch that could help you, but they have been thouroughly searched by our scholars. The Library in Malta has a document cache that could help your search as well."

 

[Zachian]

"Well, since we are already in Antioch, I wouldn't mind looking over what information the museum has. These documents might help us to familiarize us with the items you require. Pictures, drawings, and detailed descriptions would be most helpful." Airith slides his mug away from hiomself towards the center of the table. "Of course if the rest of you want to get right to Malta we could do that also." Airith turns to Irwin, "I would also like to know how we are to keep in contact with you?"