The Slave and Her Sovereign

[darkbard]

The only way to get the final success is to lift the curse. An actual Ritual (if she would accept it)...destroying the one who cursed her...entering her dreams and felling Gormandt & Grimtail; but that last would have implications for the temporal continuity of your world.

Okay, with this in mind, we shall put the attempt to Assuage Gae'al's Burden on hold for a time, returning to this:

The slight dragonborn takes a sip (something resembling bourbon but with a tremendous, fiery kick), savors it, and says:

"Word has it that a tax is soon to be levied on the Bantouk citizenry to formally construct a garrison for the fine Legionnaires who delivered our city from a fate worse than death! I think this is a fine, fine course of action; a great investment both for them and for the general Bantoukian riffraff on the street who dare to complain about their presence. Quartering them proper is both an honor and a duty...and I think it should firmly quell any...reported <said with incredulity> ...street violence or untoward, likely provoked, interaction with the low members of our fine home."

CHANVATI considers Naaphid's words and carefully considers his own before responding. In times past, the Dragonborn Inquisitors were steadfast in their unquestioned loyalty to the Emperor or Empress. When an Inquisition was mobilized, one could be sure it was the will of the Imperial Throne in action.

In recent years, however, there have been rumblings that the Inquisitors have developed agendas of their own, and that they have exploited a perceived weakness in the current Empress, still gaining her majority, in enacting those plans. Such rumors leaked from the staterooms of the Palace--Bita-Bousseh has born witness of such--and circulated among the merchants, the artisans, even the commoners of Bantouk, spurred on by their ill treatment under this Inquisition or that.

Does Naaphid, in his eagerness to appear among the Movers and Shakers of Bantoukian politics, reveal too much of his own, and his faction's, designs in the current agitation and worry that besets the citizenry? Undoubtedly so. He is a grafter, looking to exploit the Legion's profiteering for his own.

"Legate Naaphid," Chanvati observes the formalities despite the venue, "do I have it aright that Her Imperial Majesty's Inquisitors favor taxation of her citizenry on the bahalf of the current occupiers?"

---

Chanvati makes a Primary Skill Insight check to read Naaphid's motives here. We're trying to establish that (1) the general discontent at the occupation by Bantouk's citizenry is being exacerbated by disloyalty and graft among her own servants and (2) subsequently (and beyond the action of this Skill Challenge in all likelihood), if the Empress does not begin to assume responsibilities directly, her servants will thus further undermine her power.

r7+17=24 vs 20 Moderate DC. Success.

 

[Manbearcat]

5/6 Successes (0 Hard DC available)/0 Failures/1 Secondary Skill Available

---

"Legate Naaphid," Chanvati observes the formalities despite the venue, "do I have it aright that Her Imperial Majesty's Inquisitors favor taxation of her citizenry on the bahalf of the current occupiers?"

---

Chanvati makes a Primary Skill Insight check to read Naaphid's motives here. We're trying to establish that (1) the general discontent at the occupation by Bantouk's citizenry is being exacerbated by disloyalty and graft among her own servants and (2) subsequently (and beyond the action of this Skill Challenge in all likelihood), if the Empress does not begin to assume responsibilities directly, her servants will thus further undermine her power.

"In part," Naaphid nearly draconically purrs before he swills his fiery drink in full and then stares at the empty glass.

"Its on behalf of both The Legion, and I note you said 'occupiers' <looking at Chanvati squarely now with a hint of a threat>, and the citizenry. We both know the people are of small mind. They wouldn't know what best to do with their purses of meager coppers if we allowed them to keep it. They'd spend it on filthy liquor, not this <he eagerly points at his drink>, fleeting entertainment, and pointless dress-up to pretend at station."

He walks over to the eastern facing balcony rail which overlooks the distant Bantouk market. He beckons Chanvati over and points out instances of his point.

Plainly, "barracks would keep the layfolk safe." He now points out a family caught in the collateral of Bladeling Legionnaires locking horns; a duel to the death in the streets for one sleight or another. "You see? This bloodshed increases. Look at the barracks as...what is it called? A quarantine?"

He walks back to sit down and repour his drink.

"An Inquisitors purpose is to fullfil the will of Mavi-ishiq, Lord of the Heavens, via the present intermediary of the young Empress; Mavi-ishiq's earthly vessel. His will is sometimes inscrutable. On such occasion it requires some creative thinking to divine!"

He laughs and drinks deeply. With a mouth still half-full "...and, of course, our stipend to motivate the penetration of His mysteries," hinting at the costly beverage.

---

Interact with any of the above = MEDIUM DC.

 

[darkbard]

"Mavi-ishiq be praised," CHANVATI intones drily. "And may her Imperial Majesty in Her Infinite Wisdom be praised." He raises a glass of the liquor. Sips it. Coughs uncontrollably as the fiery beverage burns his throats and bronchial tubes.

Under the guise of hiccoughs, the Psion reaches out into the mind of his interlocutor, subtly adjusting any willful resistance to his upcoming suggestion, nudging psionically here, eroding psionically there.

"Well," he says once he's recovered from his coughing fit, "if the plan is good enough for Her Majesty's Inquisitors, paragons of wisdom and taste," he pauses, raising his glass but not sipping from it, "surely that should be good enough for this merchant and his interest in the free circulation of coin throughout the city. Security brings prosperity, I always say."

Pa'avu's brow wrinkles in disgust at her gosb'tar's crass mercantilism.

"Now that we've settled that, I think it time you escort us to where this barracks will be built, the current field office of the Legion. Nothing like a 'prestige' tour for insiders! Perks of privilege and all that. Indeed, you will be good enough to escort us to the Legate directly, reuniting old friends for some small details that must be attended on a personal matter. Yes, steward?"

Pa'avu relaxes, Chanvati's ploy not lost on her.

---

Chanvati enacts a psychic assault to weaken his interlocutor's will, utilizing Adept's Insight AUG1 (spend 1 Power Point) to psionically break down Naaphid's resistance to Chanvati's blatant deception and seeming about face for r4+1=+5 bonus to his Primary Skill Bluff check, +16 +5=21 vs 20 Moderate DC for an autosuccess.

 

[Manbearcat]

* Naaphid agrees happily to your request.

* He lets you know that he's already sent runners far and wide to spread your tale of "regulating in the stands." He thinks this should do good work to impress upon the citizenry the need to quarter The Legion in a "quarantined" location that should cater to, and isolate, the bulk of their violent proclivities.

* He gifts you with Brimstone Spirits as a token of his thanks for your intercession.

---

Complexity 2 SC, Level 13 SC.
Goal: Surveil the Congress of Savagery to confirm the degree and form to which the unrest among the Legion of Ruth as reported by Rietka exists.

COMPLETE

XP & LOOT

* 1600/2 = 800 xp apiece.

* One art object worth 2500 coin (Brimstone Spirits)

* Gain 1 Advantage in this follow-on conflict from the aftermath of your tale of "regulating in the stands" spreading far and wide.

---

LEGION FIELD OFFICE (MEDIUM DIFFICULTY)

Complexity 3 SC, Level 13 SC.
Goal: Convince Bita-Bahlin to position Pa'avu in the Empress's service so she can build up Scheherezade's confidence, prowess, and fitness to rule.
DCs 14/20/29
0/8 Successes (2 Hard DC available)/0 Failures/3 Secondary Skill Available/2 +1 Advantages available)

Golden brooch in the motif of a sword sundering a pen clasps the gawdy red cape adorning Bita-Boulin's shoulders and back; a showy symbol of his new station. His attendants (scrivener hard at work on dictation, lyre player softly strumming) fall back at your entrance and his mixed-company retinue of guards advances.

Though he wears his blind eyes like a trophy, a Vezzuvian Soothsayer flanks him, a crucible of molten gold delivering portents and deciphering the truth behind visual cues that Bita-Bahlin can no longer partake of. At first it appears she is swaddled fully in a black-red shroud and that the heat emanates exclusively from the crucible...but the truth becomes full as you near. Her magma-riddled, fiery flesh shifts...perhaps at her mood...perhaps at her will...to give shape to a female Efreet, hair flowing wildly and blackening at the tips like cooling lava.

With the backdrop of milling officials, troops practicing maneuvers, and the sounds, smells, and activity of already undergoing construction at the site, Naaphid begins to draw near. Forgetting that even his resistant brass scales succumb to the terrible heat of the Efreet, he winces and then retreats, stamping out the ignition of his clothing. "I'll have you know, these garments cost..."

A blast of flaming aura sends him sprawling backwards like a drunken, awkward crab attempting to evade a predator.

"What will you have me know? What can flesh teach flame?" Its nearly impossible to distinguish incredulity from hubris from rage on her molten face.

Rietka stifles a chuckle as Yasdan's eyes widen a hair.

Not wanting to betray his first move, the typically brazen Bita-Bahlin remains silent with a mild smirk on his face. There is a sense that he already knows your arrival was impending...

---

If you want to salvage Naaphid's role as herald for you here (and perhaps his dignity), MEDIUM DC.

If you want to get the Efreet to back down, HARD DC. But beware, drawing near her at all will cost you 1 Healing Surge due to the elemental heat coming off of her form.

If you want to engage his interceding mixed-company guard, HARD DC.

If you want to bait Bita-Bahlin into opening his big dumb mouth, MEDIUM DC.

Anything else unrelated to fiery crucible of portents, MEDIUM DC. Anything related to the fiery crucible of portents, HARD DC.

 

[darkbard]

If you want to bait Bita-Bahlin into opening his big dumb mouth, MEDIUM DC.

Despite our very strong inclination to Risk It for the Biscuit and an irrational desire to help Naaphid save face (perhaps he will prove useful later?), there is no way we're passing this up!

---

CHANVATI takes in the scene before him, sizing everything up in a moment.

"Bita-Bahlin, old friend," the Merchant-Prince begins, "I see you have your retinue at hand: scrivener, lyre player. But where is your zill player? The belly dancer? Do not all the entertainers of the Consulship wait at your beck and call? No matter.

"Tell me, you do still exercise control here, do you not? As official Legate between the Legion and the Empire? Your sister and I--you recall Bita-Bousseh, your twin, yes?--require private audience. And yet.... Yet, there is the Wardenguard, and the good councilor, Naaphid, Inquisitor in service to her Imperial Majesty, and" he pauses, casting side-eye at the Efreet, "whoever she is, that would interfere in this family reunion. Send away your underlings so that we may have a moment of privacy."

---

Chanvati uses a Secondary Skill Insight check to read (correctly) Bita-Bahlin's embarrassment at lack of control here, +17 vs 14 Easy DC for +2 bonus to his Primary Skill Intimidate check to goad Bita-Bahlin into either (1) dismissing those listed above from the chambers, for privacy's sake or (2) admitting the limits of his own power (and whatever ramifications that might have for the ensuing negotiation), r11+12+2=25 vs 20 Moderate DC. Success.

 

[Manbearcat]

1/8 Successes (2 Hard DC available)/0 Failures/3 Secondary Skill Available/2 +1 Advantages available)

Wel'll go with some of (1) and some of (2)!

---

Bita-Bahlin squirms uncomfortably and averts his sightless gaze on reflex.

The Effreet stirs the contents of the crucible with a finger and looks within; transfixed.

"The Duchess of Cinders...The Living Flame of the Burning Mountain. She is Vezzuvu's regent. To us, the volcano's offerings are certain death. To her, its pyroclasm is the whispered command of the primordial doom that lies in wait. She reads the molten crucible. The Legion heeds her without qualm or question. That is the beginning and end of it."

The implication being he couldn't command her even if he wanted to.

"As for the rest of you rabble," he says with a wave of his hand; "Begone from my tent. I shall summon your services upon completion here." After a minor Naaphid protest and a sightless glare in return that could freeze his blood, the tent empties.

The Efreet continues her stirring and staring.

Legate Bita-Bahlin opens his hands as if to gesture "your move."

---

MEDIUM DC

 

[darkbard]

"Duchess, forgive me," CHANVATI begins and makes a low bow. "I did not recognize Your Excellence, having not yet had the pleasure of such proximity.

"Beets," the Merchant Prince continues, turning to face his paramour, "do you wish to speak to your brother on the matter we discussed?"

Bita-Bousseh turns red--be it in anger or embarrassment or something else is impossible to discern--an impressive feat considering her naturally ruddy complexion.

"Right. So. Little brother,* you recall, certainly, how in ... earlier times ... I served in the Empress's inner circle, acting as historian and legal scholar, providing advice to the maturing ..."

Chanvati cuts her off curtly.

"Do you know, Bita-Bahlin, the Fables of Genga? No? No matter. An important book from my youth. It is the story of a noblewoman-cum-psychonaut, an adventurer across the planes and her many works in the mortal realm, her home. Some scholars dismiss this work as apocryphal, but I believe Genga did, in fact, exist, that her stories, though possibly embellished, offer great insight into the workings of nature, mortal and otherwise." He gives a glance at the Effreet.

"I will spare you further preamble. In short, early in the text the reader learns that Genga was not always the strong, decisive woman of action that she is throughout. No, as a young girl she was pampered and secluded and knew little of the world or her own capacity for action therein. Until one day a new servant was brought into her father's court, a strong peasant woman who would act as maid to young Genga. Though Genga had a legion of tutors and this woman was unlettered, unsophisticated in the ways of the court, and so on, it turns out that in observing the woman's strength in the face of adversity, in listening to her folk wisdom, that Genga had a type upon which to model her own growing force of character and identity.

"To cut to it, then: what we propose, Bita-Bousseh and I, I who you very well know was instrumental in helping forge this ... alliance ... with our ... coadjudicators." He pauses and bows again at the Effreet. "What I propose is lending the service of my bodyguard, Pa'avu here, to the Empress for a time, in hopes that she may play a similar role to the peasant woman in the fable. Pa'avu is strong, and level-headed, and she earned the respect of the Legionnaires on the battlefield in saving our city from the madness besetting it. None know her worth greater than I.

"The Legion needs a strong partner in ruling the Empire. Let us learn from history how best to shape our current ruler."

* I imagine that, though twins, Bita-Bousseh was born minutes before her brother.

---

Chanvati makes a Primary Skill History check to teach Bita-Bahlin (and, more than coincidentally, the Duchess of Cinders) the time-tested wisdom of his scheme, r6+16=22 vs 20 Moderate DC. Success.

 

[Manbearcat]

2/8 Successes (2 Hard DC available)/0 Failures/3 Secondary Skill Available/2 +1 Advantages available)

The below happens concurrently with @darkbard 's play/situation above. After the below resolves with @Nephis ' move for Pa'avu, I'll update the situation accordingly.

---

Unintelligible whispers beset only Pa'avu's ears. They steadily increase in volume and clarity.

They unify from many to one.

Her visual field pans from what is before her to a remote view of the stirring, molten contents of the crucible. If she didn't have so much experience with such things, she would surely swoon.

<Your human counterpart is a charlatan playing with forces beyond his control. Your alliance with him does you no service. It never has. See how the fire melts the stone and they become one. Always it was such with fire and stone; oneness. Join my cause. Let us unite the purpose of Vezzuvu and Stoneroot. As it was meant to be since the Dawn Times. Reveal to me your master's machinations and together, you and I as ambassadors of the will of our patrons, fire and stone, shall we render and reforge this pitiable mass of flesh and corrupt design. >

---

How does Pa'avu deal with this @Nephis ? Does she attempt to ward off the intrusion into her mind? Anything like that would be HARD DC. Does she attempt to threaten the Duchess of Cinders? Certainly HARD DC. If she parleys nonthreateningly with the Duchess' petition, then MEDIUM DC.

If you act at the HARD DC and fail, you will enrage her. The situation will change from the current medium to the physical domain with words that threaten to spiral the situation to martial conflict right here in Bita-Bahlin's tent and I'll gain 1 more HARD DC for the challenge as a complication.

Remember both your Advantages and your Wisdom-based complication from the prior conflict!

 

[Nephis]

Unintelligible whispers beset only Pa'avu's ears. They steadily increase in volume and clarity.

They unify from many to one.

Her visual field pans from what is before her to a remote view of the stirring, molten contents of the crucible. If she didn't have so much experience with such things, she would surely swoon.

Then, from deep within her l'pahb'gin, PA'AVU feels the steady beat of a drum. <Tunk. Tunk. Tunk...> Is it her own heartbeat? Or something external. No, it is both external and internal: her l'pahb'gin's eternal connection with Stoneroot. As the beats within drown out the insidious whispers, the remote view of the crucible's contents become a vision.

In her mind's eye, she can see the original Stoneroot - before His initial defeat by Vezzuvu - tall and strong against the perfectly blue sky - an inspiration for all his stoneblessed children. Then, horrifically, the molten fire building up below, building, BUILDING in intensity and heat until ... Pa'avu gives an inward wince, seeing the mountain explode in fire, destroying Stoneroot's first form.

But the steady beat continues. <Tunk. Tunk. Tunk...> She feels herself sinking into the sacred bath, deep within Stoneroot's Perch, sinking down, down, down with each beat. Stoneroot's Spirit, freed by Death to enter all who follow him, seeps into her skin, sees through her eyes, sees the view of the crucible, hears the false words of the Duchess of Cinders. And smiles.

His "whisper" to the efreet causes her to shudder, for while it is unheard by the others, she can feel it thundering, not only in her mind but reverberating throughout her molten body. He also sends her this vision: a cloud of cinders descending upon the molten contents of the crucible, smothering it. "Always it was such with fire and stone: they war against each other, but stone stands fast. It always returns after battling with fire. The fire will never defeat it completely. My children will always be One with Me in this." The Duchess of Cinders stares into Pa'avu's eyes which seem to an ice cold blue for a moment, before noticing the goliath's lithoderms mirroring this, before all return to black, but a darker black than before. And are they larger?

---

* We are parlaying an Advantage to gain 2 Successes from this Success at the Hard DC.

* Pa'avu uses her Daily Barbarian Power: Rage of the Death Spirit ("As you strike, robbing your foe of its strength, you awaken a spirit that commands your enemies' attention") for an autosuccess: 1 Success at Hard DC = 2 Successes in SC.

 

[Manbearcat]

4/8 Successes (1 Hard DC available)/0 Failures/3 Secondary Skill Available/2 Advantages available

---

Without looking up from the crucible she says to Bita-Bahlin; "beware the molten vessel, Infernal-blood...its offerings will soon increase beyond what even you can stand."

She rises and stares at the gathering of heroes. "I go to commune...directly." A circle of fire and slagged rock emerges around her feet and she dissolves into the earth below.

Bita-Bahlin sits unaccustomedly still and quiet for moments. He looks unnerved. There is a tremor in his voice when he begins, but he immediately cleans it up. "Fables of Genga...Fables of Genga. Yes. I know the rough picture of the tale. That is one way."

His unseeing eyes scan and fall upon the proximity of his sister.

"I am not deeply learned in the books of history. I did not sit at the foot of a shaman who passed down knowledge word of mouth. But I was once the age of the Empress...same as my sister. Our father died in war. One morning, our mother, a travelling circus performer, sent us out into the wild for forage; we were quite poor, you see. Upon our return quite late in the day, the circus had lit out. Gone <he makes a "poof" gesture>...like a puff of brimstone. On the windswept dunes tracks do not hold long and terrible storms come and go as they will."

He lets that soak in for a moment.

"It was a blessing you see. That is what you said to me back then, sister. You said, 'we would have been bred into the shallow, low, meaningless lives of tents and performance...thank you mother for delivering us from that.' I didn't agree then but I see the wisdom of it now."

He grimaces at the growing heat of the cauldron beside them. "Wow. She wasn't kidding!"

He stands and drags his seating arrangements further from the roiling, burning crucible. "I don't know what you would call this tale. The Fable of Circus Brats doesn't quite have the same ring to it. But perhaps The Empress could profit from it. Perhaps she just needs a good forage trip out into the wild...a change of venue...a change of life trajectory."

---

Whether Bita-Bahlin means this literally or figuratively is unclear.

Whether the twins have this story practiced, made up whole cloth, in order to weaponize for such an occasion is unclear.

Whether this is a bit of a coded message...perhaps of an impending doom or specific threat to the crown...is unclear.

He's a bit inscrutable here and certainly stubborn. Any Insight check will be at the HIGH DC. Any response of firmness will be at the HIGH DC. Any response of subtlety or with care will be at MEDIUM DC. If you decide to make multiple responses, continue forward until you hit a Failure, which will generate a significantly averse situation change and a condition of "ongoing HIGH DC" (outside of the alotted DCs) until you successfully resolve a move.