The Slave and Her Sovereign

Nephis · Jan 20, 2023

Hearing the inquisitor’s words, Pa’avu turns her gaze inquiringly to her gosb’tar for instruction. Chanvati, smiling slightly, says to her, “show your puissance, just as you did against that mul in Olivander’s cage.” She continues to gaze at him a moment as his subtle emphasis sinks in. Then she turns to her companions-at-arms for a brief discourse, after which the four warriors turn to face their halberd-bearing opponents. Suddenly Pa’avu lets out a blood-curdling howl and rushes forward, immediately followed by the three minotaurs. The closest to her, Aesterion, seems especially roused by her cry and mirrors it with one of his own, the sonic force of these cries visibly shaking the halbediers. Happily for Pa’avu’s plan, the two minotaurs following behind are able to be more convincing in “failing”: Minerion is able to stumble slightly against his brother, turning his howl into more of a yip, while their cousin Bjorkus successfully allows one of the halberds to tear at his clothing while his axe “misses” the other warrior.

When next Pa’avu’s eyes meet Chanvati’s now stern ones, she blushes slightly in shame, for it was her own too-inspiring berserker cry that had almost brought disaster to the plan.

Group Check: Attack vs. AC 19 (2+/4 = Success)
Aesterion: Roll 6 + 6 + 1 (charging) = 13 fail
Bjorkus: Roll 18 + 6 + 1 (charging) = 25 SUCCESS
Minerion: Roll 19 + 6 + 1 (charging) = 26 SUCCESS
Pa'avu: Roll 1 = auto miss

2 success "hits" = SUCCESS

Manbearcat · Jan 20, 2023

3 Successes (3 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/5 Secondary Skills Available/6 Advantages Available)

After the clash, the halberdiers break their hedge formation, turn to their inquisitor master to walk back and fall in line. The captain of the guard, unable to register the grift, signifies that they have little fear that they could handle affairs if the parley turns to an actual test of arms.

Eyo-urth-shala, watching a beautiful flock of birds migrating and a collection of children playing a ball game of some kind on the park grasses, lets the moment wind down for a fair amount of time before speaking.

"I planted the standard at your family estate within the last day. You invoked this parley fairly quickly so either you have wisely come to participate against your family, or you have hatched some foolish plan and think you are cunning. You strike me as neither a coward nor a bloodline-turncoat so I suspect the latter...hmmm...and you have a an "Infernal-Touched" among your inner circle. Oh, yes...definitely a 'cunning' (mockingly) plan.

Go ahead <hand gesture>. Convince me otherwise."

Medium DC for whatever your approach is.

darkbard · Jan 20, 2023

Chanvati appears to pale visibly at his bodyguards’ “loss” to the Inquisitor’s forces and the Dragonborn’s direct confrontation. Yet the lingering magic of the ritual belies this: he maintains an exquisite inner equanimity and a thousand rhetorical tacks race through his mind at once.

“Inquisitor,” he lies, “you have me at a loss. You are correct that I am no turncoat. And I had thought to meet here in an attempt to outwit you. But I see now that that was hubris.

You leave me with no alternative but to come clean. This woman, the ‘Infernal-Touched’ is a barrister who was recently employed by my Uncle Tarquin to protect certain family material interests in this new dispensation of Inquisatorial Oversight. No sooner had she begun drafting legal motions and scrutinizing transactional practices than she realized my uncle was involved in criminal and, dare I say, heretical schemes against the Empire.

The Honorable Barrister Bita-Bousseh came to me yesterday to reveal that my uncle’s scheming would even stoop so low as to make scapegoats of his family, for she learned that I was sent to the Dome of Illumination yesterday, where you and I met, by what is clear now was not chance, to serve as a distraction so that my cousin Amna could enter the library and steal Imperial texts for their own benefit. Their recklessness and, yes, cunning would bring ruin to our family!

So now I must do what I must, to save my family and our trading consortium from my uncle’s excesses by turning on him now, for there is no family greater than Empire! I can be your pawn and send word to you once I have learned where the evidence of their crimes is stored, so that the Empire’s justice can be served and cooler, loyal heads can once again work to the Empire’s benefit in our trade endeavors. But I cannot do this while my family is under Imperial Brand. Will you offer us respite in return for serving loyally and truly?”

Still under the effect of Glib Limerick, I am using Bluff to convince Eyo-urth-shala (the spelling of whose name I didn’t even need to look up this time!) to remove the Brand and redirect the Imperial gaze to Tarquin and Amna. Roll b[16, 11] +7 = 23 vs moderate DC 13. Success.

With the respite provided by the Inquisitor, Chanvati will spend some time in the intervening days hunting down (Roll Streetwise 18 +2 =20 vs Easy DC 8. Success. 50 gp + 10 gp rare herbs component.) and copying into his Ritual Book a the Animal Messenger Ritual for use in communicating with Eyo-urth-shala (or others) when the time comes.

We intend for the next scene to involve a break in to Tarquin’s estate under the cover of darkness (cliché for the win!) to plant the original Scrolls of Xanthar with Ibhea’s aid (Thievery as his second trained skill). Meanwhile, Bita-Bousseh will report back to the 2nd Nation what she has learned about Chanvati’s family, while also researching legal precedents for a family member assuming control of a business and assets when another family member is tried and found guilty by the Inquisition.

Manbearcat · Jan 20, 2023

4 Successes (3 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/5 Secondary Skills Available/6 Advantages Available)

4 Successes and you redirect the Inquisition to Amna and Tarquin.

"The Standard will be removed...temporarily. You have until the coming dawn to prove your case and notify me of the location of these imperial texts. Understand that I remain incredulous. If what you are saying does not bear out <leans in with fire wreathing her fangs>, you will have worse than an Inquisition to deal with."

The Inquisitor, her herald, and her guard leave The Hanging Gardens abruptly.

8 Successes and you plant the Scrolls of Xanthar onto Amna or Tarquin or somewhere prominent on their estate (depending on how this resolves, some of this might be a Flashback). 12 Successes and you sever the Sect of Omthala’s religious accord with Tarquin and Amna

Tarquin's Estate.

Enough hours past dusk that the sky is all agloom with stray twinkles and a pair of half-moons cutting the lonely dark.

Amna's Wing, little more than a vast Master Suite, is a spoke from a central hub, accessed only via an arching breezeway, its apex some 40 feet off the ground, and the ancient petrified treant it resides in. The white bark of the dead tree is a small plume of poisonous granule, murderous to the lungs, the moment it is disturbed by anything more significant than a mild breeze. The living space sits upon a hexagonal platform that serves as a 360 degree balcony, a guard posted at each of the points (6 in total). One can never be too careful when you're in this business...and that business...and that one over there as well.

The double doors to the main hub are guarded by a pair of horse-sized mastiffs, creatures with sniffers as stout as their loyalty to their master. Tarquin's steward, Hakhaman, is feeding them...and its a grizzly affair of sound, blood, growl, and pawing. As a Warlock of a strange power, Hakhaman has been in the employ of the family for too many generations to assume he is a normal..."living" thing. The dogs, frightened of him as they should be, easily come to heel when he commands.

Nephis · Jan 21, 2023

We forgot to consider the safe haven that protects our House via the alliance with the sect of Omthala (which restricts Imperial Authority on estate grounds). This means we need to sever ties between Chanvati's uncle Tarquin and cousin Amna and the sect in order to fully implement our plan. This in turns leads to the greater Complexity and Win Condition for the SC (which you earlier edited above).

On the threshold of Tarquin's estate:

Standing in the shadows with Chanvati and Ibhea, Pa’avu considers their options for entry into Amna’s rooms. Climb the poisonous tree? Somehow slip past the voracious hounds? As usual she can feel her senses heightened by proximity to her gosb’tar, the lines become ever so slightly more distinct, the sounds even sharper. Tonight, however, the twitchy-ness of their Lucent companion causes the goliath’s perception to grow even stronger: she senses the nearly soundless bats flitting around them, the voles skittering softly in the grasses at their feet. And then she knows their approach. But how will she get the others up the tree?

Use Advantage to turn Moderate DC 13 to Easy DC 9.
Primary Skill Perception Check vs. Easy DC: Roll 19 + 6 + 2 (w/in 10 sq of Chanvati) = 27 Success

Manbearcat · Jan 21, 2023

5 Successes (3 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/5 Secondary Skills Available/5 Advantages Available)

The treant trunk's petrified plumes are a terrible condition waiting to infect those foolish enough to attempt to climb its well-gnarled trunk:

Petrified Treant Lung Level 1 Disease

Those infected by this disease find their lungs turned against them, their focus and attention robbed.

Stage 0: The target recovers from the disease.
Stage 1: While affected by stage 1, the target loses a healing surge.
Stage 2: While affected by stage 2, the target loses a healing surge and takes a -2 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex.
Stage 3: While affected by stage 3, the target loses all healing surges and cannot regain hit points. The target also takes a -2 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex.
Check: At the end of each extended rest, the target makes an Endurance check if it is at stage 1 or 2.
7 or lower: The stage of the disease increases by one.
8-11: No Change
12 or higher: The stage of the disease decreases by one.

The balcony sentries, as sure as themselves as one might expect when guarding a seemingly impenetrable entry point, aren't much of an issue until you actually get on the balcony. They're each deep in thought or testing their javelins (Artillery) for trueness of curing or humming a tune or playing solitary card games.

Climbing the actual tree is a relatively straight-forward affair (and will be at the 1 - Medium DC for Group Move for all going up) given its ample, jug-like handholds and easy course for the climb. However, all who climb risks exposure to the plumes (everyone going up this route that fails their roll on the Group Check must make a +4 Atk vs their Fort; success = affliction at Stage 1). Measures can be taken to assist against this exposure (Secondary Skill success grants +2 Fort Defense vs the Petrified Treant Lung Atk).

The alternative route is a grapnel/rope > clamber up > navigate the large branches some 30 feet above as only the trunk is so afflicted by the granular disease. However, this would be a 2 - High DC Group Check. The consequences of being caught out in such an effort would be...dire (nested combat and in a pinch).

darkbard · Jan 21, 2023

Having assessed the petrified trunk for hand- and foot-holds to aid the climb, Pa’avu indicates to her master how they must make the ascent. But she warns him, too, of the thin plume of poisonous spores emanating from the once-living treant.

“Here,” Chanvati whispers, as he tears strips of cloth from the bottom of one of his robes. “Wrap these around your nose and mouth to keep from inhaling their foul spirits.”

Now, he stares up the trunk, daunted by its height. His spindly arms are evidence of his lack of routine exercise—slaves are for performing difficult physical tasks, after all—but at least he has nothing resembling the goliath’s bulk to haul up the tree. He centers the ki energy flowing through his body and begins to clamber up like a monkey behind his slave, Ibhea close behind.

Chanvati will make a Secondary Skill Heal check vs Easy DC 9 to ward himself and his companions against the dangerous plume spores of the Petrified Treant Lung Disease. Dunno if this is a single roll (in which case, use the first) or three; if an order of results is necessary in the case of 3 separate rolls, that order is Chanvati, Pa’avu, Ibhea: Roll(s) 14 +1 = 15 (C), 3 +1 = 4 (P), 2+1= 3 (I). At the very least, it looks like Chanvati will get a +2 bonus to his Fortitude defense against the spores’ attack should he fail the subsequent Athletics check.

Then he is going to use his Encounter Power Adept’s Insight (augmented) (he, himself, though, is the sole recipient of its check bonus) to invoke an Advantage and lower the DC for this Group Athletics check to climb the trunk from Moderate DC 13 to Easy DC 9.

Chanvati Athletics Roll 6 -1 +4 (r3+1) = 9 vs Easy DC 9. Success. (Whew!)

Pa’avu Athletics Roll +10 Trained Skill (climb = b[roll 2x]), so auto-success. Success.

Ibhea Athletics Roll 10 +1 = 11 vs Easy DC 9. Success.

Group Athletics Check 3/3 = Success. Looks like those Heal rolls weren’t necessary after all! (And it’s a good thing, too, if all three rolls were to be used!)

Think I have all that correct, though there are many moving parts here, so if something needs adjustment, just let us know.

Manbearcat · Jan 21, 2023

6 Successes (3 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/4 Secondary Skills Available/4 Advantages Available)

As the trio prepares to light down as quietly as possible on the hexagonal platform/balcony, a few things become quite clear:

1) The fully glass-faced facade of the wing reveals its innards. Amna's Study is dimly lit by a hanging light fixture (most candles snuffed) and has a double-door exterior access.

2) Getting there unnoticed will be rather difficult. The sentries aren't on full-alert, but the balcony space between them and the railing and the exterior walls of the wings isn't large. Going to have to be collectively quite slippery to access the interior; (1) Hard DC.

3) The alternative route is more "simple." A spindly branch reaches out over the top of the structure, terminating on the mildly graded tile roof near a simple detachable skylight. Tight-roping that branch to the skylight is precarious but doesn't have the eyes on it; (2) Medium DC. However, the consequences of the limb breaking mid-transit would be significant (1d10 damage to whomever fails the Group Check + they start Prone > nested combat).

darkbard · Jan 22, 2023

We're engaging your (1) above.

Noticing the laxity of Amna's guards stationed around the periphery of the platform, Chanvati is certain he can exploit their lack of vigilance and sneak the trio past the guards and into the interior of Amna's wing.

He unfetters the tendrils of his mind beyond the confines of his physical form, ki energy surging in waves across the balcony like faint shimmering off the desert floor at midday but instead invisible here in darkness. The minds of each guard open to him, and he reads their shifting moods, inner desires, and the fringe of exchange between the conscious and unconscious components of their sensoria, waiting till the precise moment when none focuses on the approach to Amna's study.

"Now!" he hisses to his companions.

Chanvati makes a Secondary Skill Arcana check Roll +9 vs 9 Easy DC = autosuccess, +2 buff to

Primary Skill Insight check Roll 12 +10 +2 = 23 vs 21 Hard DC = Success.

My intent here is bolded in the fiction above.

Manbearcat · Jan 22, 2023

7 Successes (2 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/1 Secondary Skills Available/4 Advantages Available)

The glass doors are well-constructed, fit the framing like a glove, and hinges are oiled to perfection. They open with a hushed sigh and allow your trio to trivially ingress to Amna's Study after you bypass the guards. The door to her bedroom proper is slightly ajar and light from it spills through that slit into the far side of the room. The sound of a hummed tune can be heard.

The flickering candles above provide minor, but sufficient, succor against the gloom of the room. Amna's desk features prominently as it is centrally-located and with a massive collection of decorative hutches. Varying sheafs of dry-inked papyrus and rolled scrolls and writing implements are neatly arrayed and binned.

Seated on her mama's chair, Pari has a collection of toys and figurines splayed out across the desk. In her tiny hands is an equally small harp. She asks her toys what tune they would like to "hear." "They make a request" of which she quickly indulges them. The sounds of her slight fingers plucking the strings rings out in the large room. The pleasant, sweet song of a child.

Her twin brother, Farzin, pipes up from a large, cushy chair with its back to your door. Seated in front of the ample fireplace, he hops down and begins to play noisily with the iron stokers. Their caretaker in the next room arrests their tune long enough to chastise the boy, threatening to come in the room and wrap his knuckles.

One wonders what will happen to them when The Empire's Inquisition comes down on her house?

Medium DC. If you successfully resolve this obstacle, then please do the following:

1) Briefly vignette the end of the scene, including your egress from the site.

2) Give us an initial locale for the next directive (so I can frame an obstacle) and please make it be one that is near to Pa'avu's Minor Quest locale so we can integrate it/segue to it.

Appreciate it. Obviously, if you hit a failure, leave it there for a turn for the worse!