ZEITGEIST Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
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Duel of the Fey
One fateful day, we receive a message without sender. It turns out that this message actually comes from Alexander Grappa who hints at an almost fatal clash with the Obs and is currently inhabiting the body of – Leone Quintal!
Before we can tell Delft that we “told him so” that letting Grappa go his ways without support would be a bad idea, we read further and see that the man had been following trails of Oscurati members all the way to Alais Primos where he found hints that the leader of the Clergy inquisition, the “Light of Justice”, Cardinal Testamenta Suchdol might have abused her position to gain access to artifacts of old. Artifacts capable of bringing someone back from the dead no matter how he died.
He followed said Testamenta's trails to Vendricce where he wanted to conduct further inquiries on the old Quintal estate. This is where Quintal – being very much alive again – managed to surprise him and shred his golem body to pieces. Still he managed to somehow enter Leone's mind and body and that's where he's hiding right now. He explains that he's able to take control of Quintal's body whenever the metal mage is asleep which is how he learned that the Obs are currently making preparations for a grand convention with Leone Quintal being one of the major organizers.
So he wants us to find him (and Leone!) as he might have found a way for us to sneak into said convention and learn more about the Obs' true plans. So it seems as if we'd have to go looking for the Mindmaker in the Steelshaper's body.
(That man surely knows how to get himself into trouble and escape last minute. Just hoped that Delft might learn to play it more safely next time)
While we prepare for our mission to get our hands on Leone/Grappa, we are being called to Delft's office. The chief inspector then tells us that Stanfield got something to discuss with us, which makes us wonder as the Governor usually keeps his distance from RHC related issues.
(really, we're that much closer with dear King Aodhan and Harkover Lee whereas Stanfield seems disconnected to the point of being nonexistent? We also felt like he did very little to improve life in Flint for the Flinter population (besides the subway), but I guess that's a common habit if you consider his background)
So we accompany Margit and Stover Delft to the Governor's Palace where we meet Dame Jillian and a certain Lieutenant Dale. Stanfield shares coffee and donuts with us and then explains that he's currently having trouble at the docks as the Dockers are on the brink of rioting due to unemployment.
“Yes, and...?” says Auryn, totally unimpressed.
“Of course the Dockers are quick to riot if something upsets them. But as long as the police doesn't enforce the law while being stupidly violent and as long as certain employers don't restart locking them up, then they'll be fine. I don't see why the RHC should get involved in such mundane issues unless you in your function as Governor see me as a spokesperson for the Dockers just because I also happen to be an artist and friends with Thames Grimsley. But that would not be part of my job as an agent, would it?”
Delft, Margit and Carlyle all seem to see reason in Auryn's words and then look to the other three. Dale seems totally unaware of this specific issue so he feigns ignorance while Dame Jillian looks back straight at Auryn.
“It is the reason why the Dockers are agitated that we are worried about. Ships have gone missing and no one wants to risk trade under these circumstances. And since these ships are involved in international trade, we... um... thought you might be of help.”
“Does the Rear Admiral know about this issue?” Auryn replies with a sigh, nodding to Jillian as she finally sees through her reasoning.
“Of course he does. He recommended...”
“Alright, I'll see to it. We got a full schedule and a mission to plan, but that won't take too much time.”
(way to piss off Stanfield... just mention Morris Dawkins and Auryn will do him almost any favor. To be honest, she just wanted to be sure that they didn't overlook the one who's actually responsible for the harbor area)
“Thank you.” Dame Jillian replies with a slightly sarcastic undertone before nodding towards Lt. Dale and presenting her second issue.
“We also got another problem, one of a more spiritual nature. You remember the destroyed witchoil facility in Cauldron Hill?”
“The one where the Colossus emerged from? How could we possibly forget that?” Carlyle answers, now both curious and alarmed.
“Mayor Smith and Lieutenant Dale heard about numerous sights of shadowy creatures near the abandoned ruin. We fear that they might be a threat to the people living near Cauldron Hill. We're still unsure about the source, but it must have to do something with that cursed place.”
Carlyle nods with his usual seriousness and he seems truly troubled by the news he just heard as Cauldron Hill and the souls trapped in the Witchoil are a personal issue to him.
“I understand. And I do truly want to help. But as Auryn mentioned, we got an important mission and don't have much time to spare. Also, I have to insist that this is not our decision, but rather Master Delft's. He is the Chief Inspector of the RHC.”
(He got a point there. We both love that the adventures give the agents a relatively large freedom to decide, but Delft was in the very same room, so, yes, this should totally be his decision as our boss.
“Master Delft” became Carlyle's preferred title for Delft as he was quite unhappy about the fact that he rose to higher social status than his boss after being knighted.
Also, Carlyle absolutely avoided to mention the Obs or our research about them in front of Stanfield. While it seems as if the Governor is being innocent, we still got that gut feeling and Macbannin's quasi-confirmation, so better be safe than sorry)
Delft grins with his usual charming look and then agrees to postpone the mission for a few days. He say he knows that Mayor Smith is an important figure for Flint and also a good acquaintance of agent Carlyle, who has a personal interest in exorcising the evil of Cauldron Hill, so he won't hesitate to let him deal with the Hill.
Stanfield, Jillian and Dale seem pretty content and we leave the Palace not much later. We then decide to go straight to the harbor as this won't be too far from where we're currently at. We first hear towards the Harbor Command to ask for the missing ships, but are being stopped on our way by a couple of marine soldiers who recognize us.
They urge us to come to the Docks immediately as a certain Fey Lady known as Beshela demands our presence right now. Being quite sure that she might know more about the ships, we agree to follow the soldiers who lead us to the Impossible where said Beshela already awaits us aboard the vessel. She's still as vain as we know her to be, but she surprisingly offers us a gift: a teleport platform for said Impossible, the crown jewel of our Navy.
We're astonished by her sudden generosity and are the brink of thanking her when we hear some ruckus from farther away. And of course it is Rock Rackus who is causing that commotion, being accompanied by a group of Dockers and some unseen voice that's mocking and insulting Beshela.
We turn to Beshela and see that she's turning violet in her anger, so we try to calm her down and promise to make Rock explain himself for this insolence. Turns out that this invisible voice actually belongs to a second Fey by the name of Copperhat who isn't exactly best friends with Beshela.
Rock, being his usual clueless self, brags that Carlyle requested his presence at the Docks, so here he is. And Carlyle being Carlyle just rolls his eyes and replies in all seriousness that he would never ever dream of summoning Rock Rackus anywhere. That, he explains, must have been yet another mischievous Fey jinx meant to cause even more confusion and noise.
Copperhat then intervenes and says that it was no ill will that lead him here, just an honest offer of friendship. He then demonstrates that it was actually Beshela who tried to trick us by installing a cursed teleport platform aboard the Impossible that would sink the ship should we dare to activate it. He then demonstrates the curse and lifts it with a wave of his unseen arm.
So we – being rightfully angry – turn to Beshela again and demand that she better explains her betrayal. The Fey Lady just shrugs and spits that it were us who sided with the “darkness threatening us all” and betrayed her ally, Lady Ethelyn. We try to explain that it was Ethelyn who started this conflict by trying to murder her own brother, the King of Risur, that we did all we could to get her out of this mess alive while the Court demanded her head and that it is actually us who are fighting against said “darkness”.
“Take it this way, dear Lady: We are Risuri agents, sworn to protect our nation and the King. You and Lady Ethelyn conspired against the King and almost committed regicide, which is the very definition of high treason. So both of you are lucky to be still alive.” Carlyle says calmly but with a certain emphasis.
"We also spoke to Ethelyn and she regrets what she did. She knows that we are fighting the same foe and she helped us with her information. There is no need to be on opposing sides.” Auryn adds.
But Beshela, all true to her fey self, isn't in the mood for an exchange of logic. So she dares Auryn to show her true intentions by engaging in a traditional battle of deeds. A challenge Auryn takes on with no hesitation.
Beshela starts by telling tales of her legendary wrath that lead to several wrecked ships and countless sailors drowning at sea. Sailors that were then eaten by her fishy minions.
Auryn responds by saying that simple wrath and destruction are way below her style. Also, Beshela and her presented deeds seem kind of limited. Limited to the sea. Limited in terms of method and impact.
“While you resort to striking fear to your opponents, I draw from the full palette to influence the hearts of mortals: I can offer them hope for a brighter future, bring them to tears with a single song, form community out of a single idea. I free fey from enthrallment, strike orcish hearts with terror as Banshee from the moors and take on the image of the most powerful of Dragons, making armies of gnolls heed my command. And I do all this by land and air.”
Beshela seems piqued and while she doesn't say anything, it seems pretty clear that she accepts Auryn's superiority in this round.
She then starts the next round by telling the tale how she came to be the true source behind the greatest symphony Risur has ever seen: Once, she says, there was a drowning violinist who she saved and took as her lover for several days. She then returned him to coast with no memories of Beshela's secrets or her whereabouts, so he wrote the Fable of Seaquen to win her back, resulting in the creation of the Hurricane Violin when he played it in the Navras Opera. She never returned to the guy though.
Auryn is actually impressed by this tale as she adores both the Fable and the Hurricane Violin and she pays respect to Beshela's deed.
(Right in the fangirl feels. Auryn is a music nerd who couldn't stop being enthusiastic about the Violin back in adventure 5 where it had been played in the Aurum during the peace conference. So yep, mind blown.)
Auryn takes a bit to return from her honest adoration and prepare a comeback. She then says that while Beshela's tale was truly impressive, she got one fact wrong: That the Fable was the greatest piece ever played in the Navras Opera House. This honor belongs to the Dirge of Vekesh and Navras, who played the piece that was able to save the Eladrin from extinction and lead them away from the path of vengeance. Navras built the most impressive Opera House of the world in its remembrance, and the Dirge had been the last piece he played before he vanished. She took her own part in this legacy when she rekindled the memory of the Dirge to give it new life and a new meaning by weaving it into a whole new Opera.
Regarding love, Beshela has proven yet again to be cruel as her lover died alone, yearning for his one true love. She then looks at Carlyle and explains that she would never abandon those who adore her and that while the violinist died, her love and memory are indeed immortal.
(First, did she just indirectly confess her love in front of the Dockers and two Fey Lords? Somehow yes though I'm not sure that Carlyle realized it this very moment.
Also, for one split second Auryn was tempted to boast about Gradiax and the influence she managed to have on his heart, thus slowly changing the view of the eldest dragon in Lanjyr. But that was more of a mental health exercise for herself. A contest like that isn't worth spilling what's maybe the biggest royal secret of Risur)
Beshela isn't fully convinced that Auryn beat her this time, so she prepares her last boast: That she saved the King of Risur and his sister before they were even royalty. Back in Yerasol 3, the two had stolen a Danoran warship, but the Danorans threatened to catch them. To save them, she dared to wake the Kraken Titan who, in her fury, destroyed all the Danoran ships, thus being the one behind Aodhan's most impressive feat.
The soldiers who are present seem surprised to hear that story. Auryn respectfully nods to Beshela for her help, but then returns that she doesn't seem to understand that true friendships last a lifetime.
“Back then you saved our King, even before he was famous. And while he took your friendship as a promise, you stabbed him in the back when you tried to kill him. It was us who crossed your vile plan and who saved the King this time, while you chose to become a villain in your heroic tale. But that is only one of many times when we saved King Aodhan: We waged war on the Prince of Slaughter to avenge his honor, and I let the Child of Darkness, who is as strong as any Titan, chase me a full day through air, land and sea, only to save the King and all of Flint. And then I dared what no other fey would: I commanded the dread ship Coaltongue, the very same ship you wanted to destroy, and made it wound the Child of Darkness so much that King Aodhan could banish it.”
The Dockers, who all remember Auryn's deeds too well, cheer in response. Beshela sneers briefly as she sees herself defeated. She then proclaims that Auryn has proven to be her equal in terms of deeds, but seems still a bit dissatisfied by the outcome. Realizing this, Auryn grins and then theatrically turns to Beshela and the Dockers.
“I took your challenge and succeeded, but you are still not satisfied, dear Lady Beshela? Then what about a battle of body and grace? I dare you to a dancing contest!”
Needless to say that the Dockers instantly go wild at the prospect of seeing their Calla Aurea dance off against Lady Beshela.
“Dance! Dance! Dance!” they scream and shout, trying to incite the surrounding sailors and soldiers while Auryn prepares her outfit for a proper dancing scene.
Beshela then rolls her eyes and agrees that, fine, Auryn has won this one. She rebuffs the crowd by merely apologizing for her trick and then mentions that she's now convinced that we are indeed not in league with those who conspire against Risur. Then she jumps into the water and vanishes while Auryn and Carlyle look at each other in confusion. How could she have possibly thought that we were part of the Obscurati?
(Looking through the source material, I have to say that we seem to have handled this section a bit different compared to the usual approach. We did more of a direct contest with Beshela in her own categories and didn't talk about the Obs at all. Also, it was a one-on-one battle, but that made sense for us as Auryn is a Fey and Carlyle's arc would be the Haunt on Cauldron Hill.
Also, neither Carlyle's player nor I would have been able to pull off an Epic Rap Battle of History. Leave that one to Rock
)
One fateful day, we receive a message without sender. It turns out that this message actually comes from Alexander Grappa who hints at an almost fatal clash with the Obs and is currently inhabiting the body of – Leone Quintal!
Before we can tell Delft that we “told him so” that letting Grappa go his ways without support would be a bad idea, we read further and see that the man had been following trails of Oscurati members all the way to Alais Primos where he found hints that the leader of the Clergy inquisition, the “Light of Justice”, Cardinal Testamenta Suchdol might have abused her position to gain access to artifacts of old. Artifacts capable of bringing someone back from the dead no matter how he died.
He followed said Testamenta's trails to Vendricce where he wanted to conduct further inquiries on the old Quintal estate. This is where Quintal – being very much alive again – managed to surprise him and shred his golem body to pieces. Still he managed to somehow enter Leone's mind and body and that's where he's hiding right now. He explains that he's able to take control of Quintal's body whenever the metal mage is asleep which is how he learned that the Obs are currently making preparations for a grand convention with Leone Quintal being one of the major organizers.
So he wants us to find him (and Leone!) as he might have found a way for us to sneak into said convention and learn more about the Obs' true plans. So it seems as if we'd have to go looking for the Mindmaker in the Steelshaper's body.
(That man surely knows how to get himself into trouble and escape last minute. Just hoped that Delft might learn to play it more safely next time)
While we prepare for our mission to get our hands on Leone/Grappa, we are being called to Delft's office. The chief inspector then tells us that Stanfield got something to discuss with us, which makes us wonder as the Governor usually keeps his distance from RHC related issues.
(really, we're that much closer with dear King Aodhan and Harkover Lee whereas Stanfield seems disconnected to the point of being nonexistent? We also felt like he did very little to improve life in Flint for the Flinter population (besides the subway), but I guess that's a common habit if you consider his background)
So we accompany Margit and Stover Delft to the Governor's Palace where we meet Dame Jillian and a certain Lieutenant Dale. Stanfield shares coffee and donuts with us and then explains that he's currently having trouble at the docks as the Dockers are on the brink of rioting due to unemployment.
“Yes, and...?” says Auryn, totally unimpressed.
“Of course the Dockers are quick to riot if something upsets them. But as long as the police doesn't enforce the law while being stupidly violent and as long as certain employers don't restart locking them up, then they'll be fine. I don't see why the RHC should get involved in such mundane issues unless you in your function as Governor see me as a spokesperson for the Dockers just because I also happen to be an artist and friends with Thames Grimsley. But that would not be part of my job as an agent, would it?”
Delft, Margit and Carlyle all seem to see reason in Auryn's words and then look to the other three. Dale seems totally unaware of this specific issue so he feigns ignorance while Dame Jillian looks back straight at Auryn.
“It is the reason why the Dockers are agitated that we are worried about. Ships have gone missing and no one wants to risk trade under these circumstances. And since these ships are involved in international trade, we... um... thought you might be of help.”
“Does the Rear Admiral know about this issue?” Auryn replies with a sigh, nodding to Jillian as she finally sees through her reasoning.
“Of course he does. He recommended...”
“Alright, I'll see to it. We got a full schedule and a mission to plan, but that won't take too much time.”
(way to piss off Stanfield... just mention Morris Dawkins and Auryn will do him almost any favor. To be honest, she just wanted to be sure that they didn't overlook the one who's actually responsible for the harbor area)
“Thank you.” Dame Jillian replies with a slightly sarcastic undertone before nodding towards Lt. Dale and presenting her second issue.
“We also got another problem, one of a more spiritual nature. You remember the destroyed witchoil facility in Cauldron Hill?”
“The one where the Colossus emerged from? How could we possibly forget that?” Carlyle answers, now both curious and alarmed.
“Mayor Smith and Lieutenant Dale heard about numerous sights of shadowy creatures near the abandoned ruin. We fear that they might be a threat to the people living near Cauldron Hill. We're still unsure about the source, but it must have to do something with that cursed place.”
Carlyle nods with his usual seriousness and he seems truly troubled by the news he just heard as Cauldron Hill and the souls trapped in the Witchoil are a personal issue to him.
“I understand. And I do truly want to help. But as Auryn mentioned, we got an important mission and don't have much time to spare. Also, I have to insist that this is not our decision, but rather Master Delft's. He is the Chief Inspector of the RHC.”
(He got a point there. We both love that the adventures give the agents a relatively large freedom to decide, but Delft was in the very same room, so, yes, this should totally be his decision as our boss.
“Master Delft” became Carlyle's preferred title for Delft as he was quite unhappy about the fact that he rose to higher social status than his boss after being knighted.
Also, Carlyle absolutely avoided to mention the Obs or our research about them in front of Stanfield. While it seems as if the Governor is being innocent, we still got that gut feeling and Macbannin's quasi-confirmation, so better be safe than sorry)
Delft grins with his usual charming look and then agrees to postpone the mission for a few days. He say he knows that Mayor Smith is an important figure for Flint and also a good acquaintance of agent Carlyle, who has a personal interest in exorcising the evil of Cauldron Hill, so he won't hesitate to let him deal with the Hill.
Stanfield, Jillian and Dale seem pretty content and we leave the Palace not much later. We then decide to go straight to the harbor as this won't be too far from where we're currently at. We first hear towards the Harbor Command to ask for the missing ships, but are being stopped on our way by a couple of marine soldiers who recognize us.
They urge us to come to the Docks immediately as a certain Fey Lady known as Beshela demands our presence right now. Being quite sure that she might know more about the ships, we agree to follow the soldiers who lead us to the Impossible where said Beshela already awaits us aboard the vessel. She's still as vain as we know her to be, but she surprisingly offers us a gift: a teleport platform for said Impossible, the crown jewel of our Navy.
We're astonished by her sudden generosity and are the brink of thanking her when we hear some ruckus from farther away. And of course it is Rock Rackus who is causing that commotion, being accompanied by a group of Dockers and some unseen voice that's mocking and insulting Beshela.
We turn to Beshela and see that she's turning violet in her anger, so we try to calm her down and promise to make Rock explain himself for this insolence. Turns out that this invisible voice actually belongs to a second Fey by the name of Copperhat who isn't exactly best friends with Beshela.
Rock, being his usual clueless self, brags that Carlyle requested his presence at the Docks, so here he is. And Carlyle being Carlyle just rolls his eyes and replies in all seriousness that he would never ever dream of summoning Rock Rackus anywhere. That, he explains, must have been yet another mischievous Fey jinx meant to cause even more confusion and noise.
Copperhat then intervenes and says that it was no ill will that lead him here, just an honest offer of friendship. He then demonstrates that it was actually Beshela who tried to trick us by installing a cursed teleport platform aboard the Impossible that would sink the ship should we dare to activate it. He then demonstrates the curse and lifts it with a wave of his unseen arm.
So we – being rightfully angry – turn to Beshela again and demand that she better explains her betrayal. The Fey Lady just shrugs and spits that it were us who sided with the “darkness threatening us all” and betrayed her ally, Lady Ethelyn. We try to explain that it was Ethelyn who started this conflict by trying to murder her own brother, the King of Risur, that we did all we could to get her out of this mess alive while the Court demanded her head and that it is actually us who are fighting against said “darkness”.
“Take it this way, dear Lady: We are Risuri agents, sworn to protect our nation and the King. You and Lady Ethelyn conspired against the King and almost committed regicide, which is the very definition of high treason. So both of you are lucky to be still alive.” Carlyle says calmly but with a certain emphasis.
"We also spoke to Ethelyn and she regrets what she did. She knows that we are fighting the same foe and she helped us with her information. There is no need to be on opposing sides.” Auryn adds.
But Beshela, all true to her fey self, isn't in the mood for an exchange of logic. So she dares Auryn to show her true intentions by engaging in a traditional battle of deeds. A challenge Auryn takes on with no hesitation.
Beshela starts by telling tales of her legendary wrath that lead to several wrecked ships and countless sailors drowning at sea. Sailors that were then eaten by her fishy minions.
Auryn responds by saying that simple wrath and destruction are way below her style. Also, Beshela and her presented deeds seem kind of limited. Limited to the sea. Limited in terms of method and impact.
“While you resort to striking fear to your opponents, I draw from the full palette to influence the hearts of mortals: I can offer them hope for a brighter future, bring them to tears with a single song, form community out of a single idea. I free fey from enthrallment, strike orcish hearts with terror as Banshee from the moors and take on the image of the most powerful of Dragons, making armies of gnolls heed my command. And I do all this by land and air.”
Beshela seems piqued and while she doesn't say anything, it seems pretty clear that she accepts Auryn's superiority in this round.
She then starts the next round by telling the tale how she came to be the true source behind the greatest symphony Risur has ever seen: Once, she says, there was a drowning violinist who she saved and took as her lover for several days. She then returned him to coast with no memories of Beshela's secrets or her whereabouts, so he wrote the Fable of Seaquen to win her back, resulting in the creation of the Hurricane Violin when he played it in the Navras Opera. She never returned to the guy though.
Auryn is actually impressed by this tale as she adores both the Fable and the Hurricane Violin and she pays respect to Beshela's deed.
(Right in the fangirl feels. Auryn is a music nerd who couldn't stop being enthusiastic about the Violin back in adventure 5 where it had been played in the Aurum during the peace conference. So yep, mind blown.)
Auryn takes a bit to return from her honest adoration and prepare a comeback. She then says that while Beshela's tale was truly impressive, she got one fact wrong: That the Fable was the greatest piece ever played in the Navras Opera House. This honor belongs to the Dirge of Vekesh and Navras, who played the piece that was able to save the Eladrin from extinction and lead them away from the path of vengeance. Navras built the most impressive Opera House of the world in its remembrance, and the Dirge had been the last piece he played before he vanished. She took her own part in this legacy when she rekindled the memory of the Dirge to give it new life and a new meaning by weaving it into a whole new Opera.
Regarding love, Beshela has proven yet again to be cruel as her lover died alone, yearning for his one true love. She then looks at Carlyle and explains that she would never abandon those who adore her and that while the violinist died, her love and memory are indeed immortal.
(First, did she just indirectly confess her love in front of the Dockers and two Fey Lords? Somehow yes though I'm not sure that Carlyle realized it this very moment.
Also, for one split second Auryn was tempted to boast about Gradiax and the influence she managed to have on his heart, thus slowly changing the view of the eldest dragon in Lanjyr. But that was more of a mental health exercise for herself. A contest like that isn't worth spilling what's maybe the biggest royal secret of Risur)
Beshela isn't fully convinced that Auryn beat her this time, so she prepares her last boast: That she saved the King of Risur and his sister before they were even royalty. Back in Yerasol 3, the two had stolen a Danoran warship, but the Danorans threatened to catch them. To save them, she dared to wake the Kraken Titan who, in her fury, destroyed all the Danoran ships, thus being the one behind Aodhan's most impressive feat.
The soldiers who are present seem surprised to hear that story. Auryn respectfully nods to Beshela for her help, but then returns that she doesn't seem to understand that true friendships last a lifetime.
“Back then you saved our King, even before he was famous. And while he took your friendship as a promise, you stabbed him in the back when you tried to kill him. It was us who crossed your vile plan and who saved the King this time, while you chose to become a villain in your heroic tale. But that is only one of many times when we saved King Aodhan: We waged war on the Prince of Slaughter to avenge his honor, and I let the Child of Darkness, who is as strong as any Titan, chase me a full day through air, land and sea, only to save the King and all of Flint. And then I dared what no other fey would: I commanded the dread ship Coaltongue, the very same ship you wanted to destroy, and made it wound the Child of Darkness so much that King Aodhan could banish it.”
The Dockers, who all remember Auryn's deeds too well, cheer in response. Beshela sneers briefly as she sees herself defeated. She then proclaims that Auryn has proven to be her equal in terms of deeds, but seems still a bit dissatisfied by the outcome. Realizing this, Auryn grins and then theatrically turns to Beshela and the Dockers.
“I took your challenge and succeeded, but you are still not satisfied, dear Lady Beshela? Then what about a battle of body and grace? I dare you to a dancing contest!”
Needless to say that the Dockers instantly go wild at the prospect of seeing their Calla Aurea dance off against Lady Beshela.
“Dance! Dance! Dance!” they scream and shout, trying to incite the surrounding sailors and soldiers while Auryn prepares her outfit for a proper dancing scene.
Beshela then rolls her eyes and agrees that, fine, Auryn has won this one. She rebuffs the crowd by merely apologizing for her trick and then mentions that she's now convinced that we are indeed not in league with those who conspire against Risur. Then she jumps into the water and vanishes while Auryn and Carlyle look at each other in confusion. How could she have possibly thought that we were part of the Obscurati?
(Looking through the source material, I have to say that we seem to have handled this section a bit different compared to the usual approach. We did more of a direct contest with Beshela in her own categories and didn't talk about the Obs at all. Also, it was a one-on-one battle, but that made sense for us as Auryn is a Fey and Carlyle's arc would be the Haunt on Cauldron Hill.
Also, neither Carlyle's player nor I would have been able to pull off an Epic Rap Battle of History. Leave that one to Rock
)
RangerWickett
Legend
Yeah, rap is not a talent in my repertoire.
Maybe if the quarantine keeps going long enough, I'll start practicing. I feel like this would have been appropriate in ZEITGEIST.
Hm, is it too late to add in Rock and the fey teaching Drakr how to rap?
Maybe if the quarantine keeps going long enough, I'll start practicing. I feel like this would have been appropriate in ZEITGEIST.
Hm, is it too late to add in Rock and the fey teaching Drakr how to rap?
RangerWickett
Legend
Hmmm. Can I somehow get the ERB guys into D&D, and get them to invest a year or two into the campaign, all so they might write that rap?
Alas, first I'd probably have to write some of Heid's actual teachings, and the actual Dirge of Vekesh.
I don't have sufficient ego to think I could write a work of art good enough to save an entire culture from annihilation.
Alas, first I'd probably have to write some of Heid's actual teachings, and the actual Dirge of Vekesh.
I don't have sufficient ego to think I could write a work of art good enough to save an entire culture from annihilation.
Trouble on Cauldron Hill and the Start of a Manhunt
Copperhat congratulates us for beating Beshela in her own game and then removes the curse on the teleport platform with a simple, flamboyant gesture. He explains that this one may come in handy for us who are dancing on the threshold between Waking and Shadow. Copperhat then throws what appears to be a simple sack in our general direction, which he calls an “Absurdist's Web”, and also mentions that we may need that one very soon.
(I... don't exactly know why or how Copperhat was able to predict the future. Is there any hidden explanation behind his sixth sense? Was that a part of his master's plan? Or simple convenience for the PCs?
Auryn didn't question it too much, as, hey, Copperhat is a Fey and a truly powerful one. This one had pretty heavy Loki vibes, that's for sure)
He then wraps his arm around his dear friend Rock and whispers that the Fey Queen requires his immediate presence at court... and maybe in her bedchamber. Auryn chuckles in response and wishes Rock good luck with his “Lady”. As Rock is being dragged off stage, Carlyle closely examines the Fey's gift and finds that it truly may come handy as the Absurdist's Web is not only able to store massive amounts of objects, it is also able to sustain unconscious bodies and grants only access to items that the one handling it knows to be stored inside.
“Truly a smuggler's finest treasure”, he calls it and places it safely in his backpack.
Meanwhile, the Dockers start to throw a massive, spontaneous party at the Docks. After all, the ships may travel safely again now that Beshela is pacified, which means new jobs for all. We celebrate a short time to show our sympathy, but then excuse ourselves as there is trouble on Cauldron Hill and we are still two very busy RHC agents.
Before we move to the Hill, we take a short detour to Rear Admiral Dawkins' office at the harbor. We tell Dawkins about the happening with Beshela and Copperhat and confirm that everything should be fine by now, so the ships should be safe. Dawkins seems still a bit troubled though as he knows that Beshela is basically a rogue Fey Lady who might just be trying to prove a point or stir trouble. Still, he's glad that we took care of her and made her pay respect to us without causing a fight.
(He probably still remembers his fight with Beshela during the very first adventure when he couldn't command the Coaltongue due to his “Yerasol malaria”)
We then ask him about the seal of Macbannin, but he doesn't know much more than us. He knows that it is indeed intact and that the Vekeshi are still providing their regular ritual, so whatever causes the seal to weaken would not be linked to missing support. We tell Dawkins that we'll be off for an important mission very soon, but we'll still look after the Hill.
To prepare for our trip to the haunted Hill, we gather protective gear that wards us against death magic and necrotic energies. Then we make an appointment with Dame Jillian and Mayor Smith for a meeting in the mayor's manor via message. Auryn seems really worried about the Hill, the ever thinning veil between the Bleak Gate and our World and what effect this might have on Carlyle. She remembers the last time he tried to help the trapped souls in the Witchoil and fears thet being confronted with so many lost souls yet again might really endanger him.
“Don't you worry”, he replies “I managed to pull back last time, and now I know what I'm up to. In fact, the only time I really couldn't bear to hear the wailing of the dead was immediately after the death of Srasama. Back then, I wasn't able to understand what happened to them... or to me. I had just reincarnated for the very first time, you know”
Auryn nods silently, but nonetheless takes Calryle's hand and holds it firmly so she may act as an anchor to the world of the living. He really doesn't mind, in fact, it seems as if he's getting accustomed and even enjoys being close to her.
In the manor, we team up with Dame Jillian and Dale and head up Cauldron Hill. On our way there, Jillian explains that the appearance of Shadow creatures is quite natural in this area, so she usually wouldn't worry too much about them. But it appears that their numbers have increased a lot lately, which is what is really troubling her.
Fortunately, Gale's Planar Energy detection spell proves to be working yet again, and we follow the planar trail of ever increasing Witchoil radiation to the destroyed Bleak Gate complex. There, we venture down the partially collapsed corridors and are surprised to find what appears to be a huge amalgamation of Witchoil and lost souls in the form of an oozing blob.
The blob appears to be hostile and pretty much not sentient, so we decide to combat it and disperse it into smaller puddles of Witchoil. Carlyle then examines the remains and is indeed troubled by his findings. He guesses that the barrier between our world and the Bleak Gate right here is so thin that phenomenons like that blob might form any time and that this probably won't be the last time we'd encounter such a thing.
He sighs deeply and fears for all these restless souls that are still bound, or drawn to, the Witchoil. Carlyle then muses that it might take the Power of the Land to heal this wound once and for all and to help the souls be free at last.
We then go to examine the seal of Macbannin to check if it is still intact. What we do find seems rather strange: The seal itself appears to be in a pristine condition, but still it feels as if one of its components is somehow... missing. And it might just be this missing part that's causing all this trouble. We discuss the nature of the seal and agree that it might be a good idea to research the planar Seals of the Ancients so we may make a blueprint for a new seal to the Bleak Gate should this one eventually fail to do its job.
(The missing component? Well, Macbannin of course. Unbeknownst to us, some Ob has managed to pull the Mayor's soul out and create the ghostly version of him we just saw in the small preview section.)
We return back to the RHC to give a report on the two “Stanfield missions” and then decide to take one more day to gather information and tend to our off-work duties.
Auryn participates in a meeting for her newly founded Club for Eladrin and friends of Elfaivaran culture in one cozy inn in the more forest-y outskirts of Central district. As she expected, the number of attendees is still small, as they are mostly the Eladrin mercenary company, some members of older Eladrin families and a few interested humans and elves. Still, the atmosphere is pretty positive and the meeting is all about song and story and Auryn takes some time to tell tales of Elfaivar.
Before we travel to Vendricce to look foe Leone Quintal, we first meet with Morgan Cippiano as the man might just have more information about his fellow countryman. So we meet up in the small cafe in Stray River and discuss the resurrected Ob over a delicious cup of coffee.
Cippiano tells us about his limited knowledge of the Quintal son, with Leone being one of the noble family's descendants. He explains that the family owns a large vineyard with a beautiful manor in the outskirts of Vendricce and also mentions that the families of Quintal and Suchdol have traditionally been close as they are kind of neighbors. Regarding the rest of the family, he tells us about Leone's siblings, Diginni and Lucrezia.
(OOC I was a bit worried at that point. Lucrezias always mean trouble. Always.)
When we tell Cippiano about the hint that a certain Testamenta Suchdol might have used Clergy artifacts to resurrect Leone, the Family Don turns quiet for a while. He then says that the Suchdols, and especially Testamenta are no ones he'd recommend crossing paths with as she is an influential cardinal of the Clergy with good ties to the Hierarchs.
But Cippiano is not in the mood for ending our conversation with gloom and worrisome news, so he changes subject and asks Auryn about her recent gathering of the Elfaivaran culture club. When she tells him all about her idea of bringing risuri and elfaivaran culture together, Cippiano smiles warmly and asks whether a man of his background would be welcome to join next time. This surprises Auryn at first, but then she remembers that Morgan Cippiano is an enthusiast for all kinds of cultural events, and replies that she's actually glad that he asked. And no, she doesn't have any objections, in fact, she'd be happy to see a Crisillyiri learn more about Eladrin, so maybe this may even mend the cultural gap between their two nations. Flint is a cultural melting pot indeed.
We thank Cippiano for his knowledge and head back to the RHC to prepare for our departure. Delft mentions a certain Joe Hobner as a contact in Alais Primos should we decide to take a detour to the Crisillyiri capital. Hobner is already retired, he explains, but it'd still be nice if we could say hello to his old acquaintance. Delft also recommends one innkeeper in Vendricce we may ask for more information.
As we already got a hint on where to find Leone, we decide to directly head there and start looking for the Quintal estate. So we teleport to Vendricce and head towards the beautiful outskirts of what had once been an elfaivaran settlement. As the estate doesn't seem to be too far away, we agree to travel there in disguise and by foot to have more time to spot details and to maybe even relax a bit.
Auryn, being the usual botany enthusiast, shows interest in all the different sorts of grapes growing in the vineyards and Carlyle, being the usual wine enthusiast, takes quite the time to tell her all about Crisillyiri winemaking and wine in general. And it seems as if he's quite happy to have someone who's willing to listen to all of the finer details.
After a while, we finally arrive at one of the estates with a beautiful classicistic building atop a soft hill. So we turn invisible and sneak around the manor to gather more information. It appears as if this one is not the Quintal's estate, but the Suchdol's. As we know that Testamenta might be the one behind Quintals reappearance, we decide to enter the manor to look for incriminating evidence that she indeed did resurrect our archenemy.
We avoid the family who's having coffee in the garden and find one room that's heavily warded against all kinds of intrusion and conclude that this would very well be Testamenta's. Carlyle temporarily disables the Cardinal's traps and we enter the room in search for clues.
What we do find is quite alarming and also obvious. Besides the expected smell of incense, we see the remains of what appears to be demonic artifacts and traces of blood. Carlyle recognizes the faint smell of Leone Quintal among the incense and perfume, which seems to be strongest in the crinkled bed sheets. So there is no doubt about what must have happened here not too long ago. Still we are surprised that a Cardinal of the Clergy, Ob or not, did resort to such kinds of foul magic.
We search further and find a medallion containing one of Leone's locks. To prevent any further resurrection attempts, we remove the hair, take some of Testamenta's out of her brush, and dye it in the color of Leone's hair. Then we leave and lock the room behind us.
As the Suchdols seem to be otherwise innocuous, we leave their estate and head to the next one. There, we spot two families having coffee and sweets in their garden.
(This must be some kind of habit in this area... or maybe simply a crisillyiri custom?)
We eavesdrop to the familiy's conversation and find out that these are actually the Quintals who are visiting their neighbors for a chat. Lucky us, as this means that the Quintal estate will be largely void of people. So we hurry to the next estate and finally arrive at the Quintal manor. We do not find any trace of Leone inside the building, but do spot the well-known footprints of the Grappa-Golem at the estate's borders.
We follow them to a small family graveyard filled with tombs of the Quintal family. There, we see evidence that someone might have ambushed Grappa and felled him after a short fight. So we guess that this might have been one of Leone's many clever traps that caught poor unwary Grappa flat-footed. After a bit more investigation, we do manage to find the headless Golem's body, buried under a pile of dirt. We carefully remove the dirt and clean up the Golem, even if there is no spark of life left inside. Then we place it in the Absurdist's Web for safe storage and return to Vendricce to gather more information about Leone.
Copperhat congratulates us for beating Beshela in her own game and then removes the curse on the teleport platform with a simple, flamboyant gesture. He explains that this one may come in handy for us who are dancing on the threshold between Waking and Shadow. Copperhat then throws what appears to be a simple sack in our general direction, which he calls an “Absurdist's Web”, and also mentions that we may need that one very soon.
(I... don't exactly know why or how Copperhat was able to predict the future. Is there any hidden explanation behind his sixth sense? Was that a part of his master's plan? Or simple convenience for the PCs?
Auryn didn't question it too much, as, hey, Copperhat is a Fey and a truly powerful one. This one had pretty heavy Loki vibes, that's for sure)
He then wraps his arm around his dear friend Rock and whispers that the Fey Queen requires his immediate presence at court... and maybe in her bedchamber. Auryn chuckles in response and wishes Rock good luck with his “Lady”. As Rock is being dragged off stage, Carlyle closely examines the Fey's gift and finds that it truly may come handy as the Absurdist's Web is not only able to store massive amounts of objects, it is also able to sustain unconscious bodies and grants only access to items that the one handling it knows to be stored inside.
“Truly a smuggler's finest treasure”, he calls it and places it safely in his backpack.
Meanwhile, the Dockers start to throw a massive, spontaneous party at the Docks. After all, the ships may travel safely again now that Beshela is pacified, which means new jobs for all. We celebrate a short time to show our sympathy, but then excuse ourselves as there is trouble on Cauldron Hill and we are still two very busy RHC agents.
Before we move to the Hill, we take a short detour to Rear Admiral Dawkins' office at the harbor. We tell Dawkins about the happening with Beshela and Copperhat and confirm that everything should be fine by now, so the ships should be safe. Dawkins seems still a bit troubled though as he knows that Beshela is basically a rogue Fey Lady who might just be trying to prove a point or stir trouble. Still, he's glad that we took care of her and made her pay respect to us without causing a fight.
(He probably still remembers his fight with Beshela during the very first adventure when he couldn't command the Coaltongue due to his “Yerasol malaria”)
We then ask him about the seal of Macbannin, but he doesn't know much more than us. He knows that it is indeed intact and that the Vekeshi are still providing their regular ritual, so whatever causes the seal to weaken would not be linked to missing support. We tell Dawkins that we'll be off for an important mission very soon, but we'll still look after the Hill.
To prepare for our trip to the haunted Hill, we gather protective gear that wards us against death magic and necrotic energies. Then we make an appointment with Dame Jillian and Mayor Smith for a meeting in the mayor's manor via message. Auryn seems really worried about the Hill, the ever thinning veil between the Bleak Gate and our World and what effect this might have on Carlyle. She remembers the last time he tried to help the trapped souls in the Witchoil and fears thet being confronted with so many lost souls yet again might really endanger him.
“Don't you worry”, he replies “I managed to pull back last time, and now I know what I'm up to. In fact, the only time I really couldn't bear to hear the wailing of the dead was immediately after the death of Srasama. Back then, I wasn't able to understand what happened to them... or to me. I had just reincarnated for the very first time, you know”
Auryn nods silently, but nonetheless takes Calryle's hand and holds it firmly so she may act as an anchor to the world of the living. He really doesn't mind, in fact, it seems as if he's getting accustomed and even enjoys being close to her.
In the manor, we team up with Dame Jillian and Dale and head up Cauldron Hill. On our way there, Jillian explains that the appearance of Shadow creatures is quite natural in this area, so she usually wouldn't worry too much about them. But it appears that their numbers have increased a lot lately, which is what is really troubling her.
Fortunately, Gale's Planar Energy detection spell proves to be working yet again, and we follow the planar trail of ever increasing Witchoil radiation to the destroyed Bleak Gate complex. There, we venture down the partially collapsed corridors and are surprised to find what appears to be a huge amalgamation of Witchoil and lost souls in the form of an oozing blob.
The blob appears to be hostile and pretty much not sentient, so we decide to combat it and disperse it into smaller puddles of Witchoil. Carlyle then examines the remains and is indeed troubled by his findings. He guesses that the barrier between our world and the Bleak Gate right here is so thin that phenomenons like that blob might form any time and that this probably won't be the last time we'd encounter such a thing.
He sighs deeply and fears for all these restless souls that are still bound, or drawn to, the Witchoil. Carlyle then muses that it might take the Power of the Land to heal this wound once and for all and to help the souls be free at last.
We then go to examine the seal of Macbannin to check if it is still intact. What we do find seems rather strange: The seal itself appears to be in a pristine condition, but still it feels as if one of its components is somehow... missing. And it might just be this missing part that's causing all this trouble. We discuss the nature of the seal and agree that it might be a good idea to research the planar Seals of the Ancients so we may make a blueprint for a new seal to the Bleak Gate should this one eventually fail to do its job.
(The missing component? Well, Macbannin of course. Unbeknownst to us, some Ob has managed to pull the Mayor's soul out and create the ghostly version of him we just saw in the small preview section.)
We return back to the RHC to give a report on the two “Stanfield missions” and then decide to take one more day to gather information and tend to our off-work duties.
Auryn participates in a meeting for her newly founded Club for Eladrin and friends of Elfaivaran culture in one cozy inn in the more forest-y outskirts of Central district. As she expected, the number of attendees is still small, as they are mostly the Eladrin mercenary company, some members of older Eladrin families and a few interested humans and elves. Still, the atmosphere is pretty positive and the meeting is all about song and story and Auryn takes some time to tell tales of Elfaivar.
Before we travel to Vendricce to look foe Leone Quintal, we first meet with Morgan Cippiano as the man might just have more information about his fellow countryman. So we meet up in the small cafe in Stray River and discuss the resurrected Ob over a delicious cup of coffee.
Cippiano tells us about his limited knowledge of the Quintal son, with Leone being one of the noble family's descendants. He explains that the family owns a large vineyard with a beautiful manor in the outskirts of Vendricce and also mentions that the families of Quintal and Suchdol have traditionally been close as they are kind of neighbors. Regarding the rest of the family, he tells us about Leone's siblings, Diginni and Lucrezia.
(OOC I was a bit worried at that point. Lucrezias always mean trouble. Always.)
When we tell Cippiano about the hint that a certain Testamenta Suchdol might have used Clergy artifacts to resurrect Leone, the Family Don turns quiet for a while. He then says that the Suchdols, and especially Testamenta are no ones he'd recommend crossing paths with as she is an influential cardinal of the Clergy with good ties to the Hierarchs.
But Cippiano is not in the mood for ending our conversation with gloom and worrisome news, so he changes subject and asks Auryn about her recent gathering of the Elfaivaran culture club. When she tells him all about her idea of bringing risuri and elfaivaran culture together, Cippiano smiles warmly and asks whether a man of his background would be welcome to join next time. This surprises Auryn at first, but then she remembers that Morgan Cippiano is an enthusiast for all kinds of cultural events, and replies that she's actually glad that he asked. And no, she doesn't have any objections, in fact, she'd be happy to see a Crisillyiri learn more about Eladrin, so maybe this may even mend the cultural gap between their two nations. Flint is a cultural melting pot indeed.
We thank Cippiano for his knowledge and head back to the RHC to prepare for our departure. Delft mentions a certain Joe Hobner as a contact in Alais Primos should we decide to take a detour to the Crisillyiri capital. Hobner is already retired, he explains, but it'd still be nice if we could say hello to his old acquaintance. Delft also recommends one innkeeper in Vendricce we may ask for more information.
As we already got a hint on where to find Leone, we decide to directly head there and start looking for the Quintal estate. So we teleport to Vendricce and head towards the beautiful outskirts of what had once been an elfaivaran settlement. As the estate doesn't seem to be too far away, we agree to travel there in disguise and by foot to have more time to spot details and to maybe even relax a bit.
Auryn, being the usual botany enthusiast, shows interest in all the different sorts of grapes growing in the vineyards and Carlyle, being the usual wine enthusiast, takes quite the time to tell her all about Crisillyiri winemaking and wine in general. And it seems as if he's quite happy to have someone who's willing to listen to all of the finer details.
After a while, we finally arrive at one of the estates with a beautiful classicistic building atop a soft hill. So we turn invisible and sneak around the manor to gather more information. It appears as if this one is not the Quintal's estate, but the Suchdol's. As we know that Testamenta might be the one behind Quintals reappearance, we decide to enter the manor to look for incriminating evidence that she indeed did resurrect our archenemy.
We avoid the family who's having coffee in the garden and find one room that's heavily warded against all kinds of intrusion and conclude that this would very well be Testamenta's. Carlyle temporarily disables the Cardinal's traps and we enter the room in search for clues.
What we do find is quite alarming and also obvious. Besides the expected smell of incense, we see the remains of what appears to be demonic artifacts and traces of blood. Carlyle recognizes the faint smell of Leone Quintal among the incense and perfume, which seems to be strongest in the crinkled bed sheets. So there is no doubt about what must have happened here not too long ago. Still we are surprised that a Cardinal of the Clergy, Ob or not, did resort to such kinds of foul magic.
We search further and find a medallion containing one of Leone's locks. To prevent any further resurrection attempts, we remove the hair, take some of Testamenta's out of her brush, and dye it in the color of Leone's hair. Then we leave and lock the room behind us.
As the Suchdols seem to be otherwise innocuous, we leave their estate and head to the next one. There, we spot two families having coffee and sweets in their garden.
(This must be some kind of habit in this area... or maybe simply a crisillyiri custom?)
We eavesdrop to the familiy's conversation and find out that these are actually the Quintals who are visiting their neighbors for a chat. Lucky us, as this means that the Quintal estate will be largely void of people. So we hurry to the next estate and finally arrive at the Quintal manor. We do not find any trace of Leone inside the building, but do spot the well-known footprints of the Grappa-Golem at the estate's borders.
We follow them to a small family graveyard filled with tombs of the Quintal family. There, we see evidence that someone might have ambushed Grappa and felled him after a short fight. So we guess that this might have been one of Leone's many clever traps that caught poor unwary Grappa flat-footed. After a bit more investigation, we do manage to find the headless Golem's body, buried under a pile of dirt. We carefully remove the dirt and clean up the Golem, even if there is no spark of life left inside. Then we place it in the Absurdist's Web for safe storage and return to Vendricce to gather more information about Leone.
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
The Absurdist web is truly the king of magical items in this campaign, able to be used in so many creative ways. I do not recall a session since it was obtained that it has not been used for something.
I believe Copperhat is able to tell you will need the Web for bodies in the future as he is linked to the Voice of Rot which can use divination effects as a demigod and can sense when things are likely to die. I am assuming he is helping the pc's because his master wants them to cause trouble for the Ob so the Ob are too busy to notice his own efforts to sabotage them or at least that was what I thought when I ran the encounter , it also serves to potentially tip the pc's that Copper-Hat is linked to the Voice of Rot.
I believe Copperhat is able to tell you will need the Web for bodies in the future as he is linked to the Voice of Rot which can use divination effects as a demigod and can sense when things are likely to die. I am assuming he is helping the pc's because his master wants them to cause trouble for the Ob so the Ob are too busy to notice his own efforts to sabotage them or at least that was what I thought when I ran the encounter , it also serves to potentially tip the pc's that Copper-Hat is linked to the Voice of Rot.
RangerWickett
Legend
Yeah, the Voice of Rot benefits from being an antagonist in an adventure path, in that due to timey-wimey-ness and him eventually coiling around Reida, he's able to sense the future. He thus knows that he's going to learn the Ob are opening the Axis Seal, but he has to make sure he actually does learn that, so he has Copperhat give them the web so he can observe the convocation through it.
Plus, the spiders of the Dreaming are, at least in my head-canon, a bit non-chronolinear. The Dreaming has always been fast and loose when it comes to a regular procession of seconds, minutes, and hours. The Webway - a name stolen from a Warhammer 40k thing - sort of conflates three dimensional space with a slight ability to fudge fourth-dimensional time. It's one of those things you probably shouldn't meddle with if you want to keep your sanity.
In the upcoming Zeitgeist setting book, we had to make a new fey titan of the swamps, and she's The Hollow Widow, a giant empty spider carapace.
Plus, the spiders of the Dreaming are, at least in my head-canon, a bit non-chronolinear. The Dreaming has always been fast and loose when it comes to a regular procession of seconds, minutes, and hours. The Webway - a name stolen from a Warhammer 40k thing - sort of conflates three dimensional space with a slight ability to fudge fourth-dimensional time. It's one of those things you probably shouldn't meddle with if you want to keep your sanity.
In the upcoming Zeitgeist setting book, we had to make a new fey titan of the swamps, and she's The Hollow Widow, a giant empty spider carapace.
Now that makes perfectly sense, thanks for the insight
Never thought that the Voice would be actually screwing up the Ob by empowering the party so he and his cultists may fly under the radar or that he'll need to make sure to gather his required knowledge. That's some serious badassery. Should I ever decide to DM Zeitgeist, I'll definitely add more subtle hints and reveal that plan at the end.
Also, the Absurdist's Web is so incredibly powerful in the hands of creative PCs. We had a lot of fun with it.
Never thought that the Voice would be actually screwing up the Ob by empowering the party so he and his cultists may fly under the radar or that he'll need to make sure to gather his required knowledge. That's some serious badassery. Should I ever decide to DM Zeitgeist, I'll definitely add more subtle hints and reveal that plan at the end.
Also, the Absurdist's Web is so incredibly powerful in the hands of creative PCs. We had a lot of fun with it.
After spending a few hours in the city of Vendricce, looking for more information on Leone Quintal, we get the rumor that a certain Cardinal Testamenta Suchdol might still be in the same convent she visited when she arrived 3 weeks ago. Burton, who arrived here in advance, got even more as he found out that someone had been asking for Leone 4 weeks ago. In addition, a man fitting Leone's general appearance left Vendricce on the yacht Isabella quite some time ago, heading for Seobriga. He adds that the Isabella belongs to a certain Manuelle Carucci, a friend of the Quintal family, so it would be quite possible that this was truly Leone.
We're really glad that Burton made good use of his many connections and thank him for the details. For Burton, this is no big deal – as long as we don't make him join our deadly fights, he's more than ready to lend us his bag of tricks.
(He's still a bit traumatized after the events on Axis Island. But we're truly happy that this little goblin is still loyal and willing to work for the RHC)
We then visit the convent incognito and spy on Cardinal Testamenta who is busy performing a mass. To no one's surprise, she uses a mix of classic Clergy supremacy and a mish-mash of everything “demonic” in her rhetoric before blessing all attendants in the name of Triegenes. We follow her a bit afterward, but fail to gain any more information about Leone.
Sensing that Auryn's constantly clenched fists and her short-spokenness might be a sign of trouble, Carlyle takes her to a quieter place at the Vendricce docks and asks her about her state of mind. She sighs softly and then states that Crisillyir and its citizens are giving her strong headaches right now. She found it hard to stay calm when she heard Testamenta's hateful rhetoric and the woman's hypocrisy regarding demons and her own use of demonic artifacts is making her sick. That, plus the fact that she is an Ob agent who just revived their archenemy for her own gain really fill her mind with murderous thoughts right now.
What's making this even worse is the fact that none of the mass' attendants even batted an eye when she called for the complete dominion of her holy forces over the “evil east” and the eradication of her people.
“It has been 500 years now, and they still haven't changed a bit, Gabriel. And what is even worse is the fact that... all the people from Crisillyir that I met in Flint... Cippiano, you... they gave me hope that things may have changed. But these people don't seem to understand the meaning of 'coexistence'. There can be no peace with these war-mongers.”
Touched by the bitterness in Auryn's words, yet seeing that she got a point there, Carlyle exhales sharply and slowly shakes his head.
You're not going to go on a murder spree, will you?” he replies with a certain humorous undertone.
Auryn laughs softly, leaving the doom and gloom for a moment while shaking her head.
“Nope. I won't cut off heads for thinking ugly crisiylliri thoughts. I promise.”
"And I promise that every violation of Eladrin people and properties, including their territory will be met with severe retaliation.”
(This whole Crisillyir issue is really affecting her. She cannot really wrap her head around why regular Crisillyiri wouldn't be averted to such blatant propaganda if what remained of her people – sans Mad King – had left the path of vengeance. Especially as the Eladrin with their long life spans remembered while an age had passed for the humans. Plus, she really invested a lot of time and effort into curing Gene and his blatant rejection was like a punch in the face.
In her inner thoughts, she already strategized about how to deal with Crisillyir and the whole colonial issue in the future and at that point, she realized that some kind of war against the Clergy might be inevitable. But this time, it better resulted in a “the world vs. the Clergy” scenario. She had not given up hope completely, as she knew that people could change and maybe someone would be willing to try something akin to Sawyer in one of the Crisillyiri colonies.
And yep, she has to constantly face the urge to annihilate whoever seems to threaten her people or the Enclaves. Because, how else should she deal with people who deny her kin the right to exist? Even if she knew that this might have been very well the path that led Kasvarina to darkness.
But to be honest, Auryn didn't think too highly of “mortal humans” before she actually met them either. First, she saw them as invaders, threats and enemies. Then she realized how harmless and pathetic they were. Then she met their greed and was utterly disgusted. It took years and the influence of Morris and Milena Dawkins to make her respect them)
So next we go to Seobriga to check if and when Leone Quintal arrived in the city. But it seems like he never made it there and some local dockers and sailors can tell us that the Isabella had a rendezvous with the Cold Vessel, a liner to Alais Primos she met at high sea. We suspect that Leone used this opportunity to switch ships and divert his trail. So Alais Primos should be next on our list.
As the Crisillyiri capital is far more into the mainland, we guess that wandering around as an Eladrin wouldn't be the best of ideas. So Auryn and Carlyle do their best to disguise her as a human woman.
(Carlyle is really talented when it come to make-up and disguises. He mixes some of the stuff himself and uses it to hide his Deva markings every day. He's always more comfortable blending in with the crowd than sticking out.
We also joked about who would need more time for their individual morning routine... Carlyle, who puts a lot of effort into shaving, lotions and said make-up, but doesn't need that much for his hair or dress or Auryn, who doesn't do much make-up and simply needs cold, refreshing water, but tends to let her unseen servant go wild on her hair and has the more elaborate and complicated wardrobe)
As soon as we are in Alais Primos, we try to ignore the temptation of a longer sightseeing tour and directly follow Leone's trail to the pink cathedral of St. Tromboni (Auryn shakes her head at such a gaudy, distasteful non-style), ask a few people and find out that Signore Quintal had rented a room in a pension a couple of days ago. As this doesn't lead us much further, we then decide to pick up Delft's hint and visit his old contact, Joe Hobner.
So we head to Hobner's import business where we are met by a laid-back, yet charming man. When we mention his old comrade, Stover Delft, who recommended him as a guide for Alais Primos, he warms up even more and invites us to a drink to have a chat about his past as an RHC agent. He then tells a few anecdotes about his misadventures with “dear Stover” and then asks us about our reason for being in Alais Primos.
(this came a bit of a surprise, as no one in Flint knew what kind of man Delft had been during his time as an active field agent. He didn't share the mimic story though and... considering Hobner's true nature, this was so surprising in hindsight)
So we tell him that we're looking for one dangerous man with especially dangerous metal-manipulating powers who goes by the name of Leone Quintal. Hobner nods seemingly knowing and offers us a drink. Both of us choose the wine (hey, we're in Crisillyir!) and while Auryn takes a sip and notices that the wine is unusually bitter for such a fine one, Carlyle actually smells that something is off even before he tries it.
“This is strychnine. Don't have any more of that, Auryn. It is poisonous.” he says sternly while drawing his Kukris, pointing them at Hobner.
“You. Talk. Now.”
Hobner puts up a half-smile as if he wasn't too surprised that someone noticed the poison, then pulls out a strange sizzling device called Dazer (I see what you did there) and tries to electrocute Carlyle. Needless to say that his attempts are quite futile and he quickly ends up being knocked out.
Before we tie up “Hobner”, Carlyle asks Auryn whether she is feeling any kind of numbness or over-stimulus and Auryn replies that her fingertips are tingling, but that she's fine otherwise. Carlyle doesn't want to risk her health though, so he starts mixing an antidote. While he's at it, the backdoor opens and a small group of kobolds, led by a prominent figure with red scales, enter the scene.
“No reason to be surprised” says El Extrano, bowing gallantly before twirling his tendrils.
“Well, this time it actually is a surprise to see you”, Carlyle replies while eyeing the other kobolds carefully.
As soon as they see what Carlyle is up to, they hand us small vials of antidote and say that they knew this man was preparing to poison someone, which is why they brought these in advance. We thank the kobolds and El Extrano, who goes on to tell us that he and his Bruse got interested in the “conspiracy”, and that their trail led them here. He realized that this Hobner guy had been replaced by some conspirator and so he was curious about what he was up to.
El Extrano asks us to maybe take a little more time to chat with him, but we suggest that we probably do so elsewhere and add that we'd first have to tell our Chief Inspector Delft that his old friend is dead. That, and we need to get information from this assassin. Which we are more than willing to share with the kobolds.
So we take the assassin and teleport back to the RHC where we bring the bad news to Delft. First, he seems shocked, but then he's fuming in rage over the death of his close friend Joe. We agree that we'll interrogate the man, who turns out to go by the name of Robert the Black, together. Robert unfortunately isn't really an Ob himself, but seems to be rather hired by them to discard of nosy RHC agents. Just a job, he explains.
Carlyle smiles grimly at his explanation and casually mentions that assassins like him better consider the damage they do and that now we're going to leave him alone with the man whose friend he killed. So good luck with Delft.
(There is his rather ruthless side again. And yep, Delft was really glad that we brought Robert to him. To be honest, we don't really know how dark Delft can become when it comes to people who crossed him or his friends.)
We return to Alais Primos to meet up with El Extrano and his gang again. We tell him that Robert didn't know more about the Obs and our kobold acquaintance doesn't seem surprised at all.
“Sorry that we weren't able to save poor Joe” Extrano says while smoking his oversized pipe.
We reply that the beran spies were of great help already, so no hard feelings. El Extrano then explains that his kobolds got quite the functioning spy network among the dock workers in Alais Primos, so he would totally lend us his hand should we need it. We agree that both our nations have suffered from the Obscurti conspiracy, so it would be in both their interest if we joined forces in terms of intelligence.
Carlyle is curious about the reason why the berans would be so interested in Crisillyir in the first place and Auryn muses that it might trace back to the reign of the Dragon Tyrants who wanted to keep a close eye on their rivals. She then adds that Ber has always been wary of missionaries and been friendly to Elfaivaran refugees, so maybe they just wanted to make sure to know about Crisillyir's possible actions and reactions in advance.
El Extrano doesn't know more about this subject, but he seems genuinely friendly. He then hands us the Kodex of the Little People and asks us to read it so we may understand the perspective of the smallfolk. We reply that we do value his input and wouldn't dare to treat goblins or kobolds as less than the larger people just because of their size. The kobold seems contempt with this answer and then share his latest information about Leone Quintal with us: That he heard the man traveled to Enzyo Mons a couple of days ago. So it seems as if we'd have to scale a volcano next.
We're really glad that Burton made good use of his many connections and thank him for the details. For Burton, this is no big deal – as long as we don't make him join our deadly fights, he's more than ready to lend us his bag of tricks.
(He's still a bit traumatized after the events on Axis Island. But we're truly happy that this little goblin is still loyal and willing to work for the RHC)
We then visit the convent incognito and spy on Cardinal Testamenta who is busy performing a mass. To no one's surprise, she uses a mix of classic Clergy supremacy and a mish-mash of everything “demonic” in her rhetoric before blessing all attendants in the name of Triegenes. We follow her a bit afterward, but fail to gain any more information about Leone.
Sensing that Auryn's constantly clenched fists and her short-spokenness might be a sign of trouble, Carlyle takes her to a quieter place at the Vendricce docks and asks her about her state of mind. She sighs softly and then states that Crisillyir and its citizens are giving her strong headaches right now. She found it hard to stay calm when she heard Testamenta's hateful rhetoric and the woman's hypocrisy regarding demons and her own use of demonic artifacts is making her sick. That, plus the fact that she is an Ob agent who just revived their archenemy for her own gain really fill her mind with murderous thoughts right now.
What's making this even worse is the fact that none of the mass' attendants even batted an eye when she called for the complete dominion of her holy forces over the “evil east” and the eradication of her people.
“It has been 500 years now, and they still haven't changed a bit, Gabriel. And what is even worse is the fact that... all the people from Crisillyir that I met in Flint... Cippiano, you... they gave me hope that things may have changed. But these people don't seem to understand the meaning of 'coexistence'. There can be no peace with these war-mongers.”
Touched by the bitterness in Auryn's words, yet seeing that she got a point there, Carlyle exhales sharply and slowly shakes his head.
You're not going to go on a murder spree, will you?” he replies with a certain humorous undertone.
Auryn laughs softly, leaving the doom and gloom for a moment while shaking her head.
“Nope. I won't cut off heads for thinking ugly crisiylliri thoughts. I promise.”
"And I promise that every violation of Eladrin people and properties, including their territory will be met with severe retaliation.”
(This whole Crisillyir issue is really affecting her. She cannot really wrap her head around why regular Crisillyiri wouldn't be averted to such blatant propaganda if what remained of her people – sans Mad King – had left the path of vengeance. Especially as the Eladrin with their long life spans remembered while an age had passed for the humans. Plus, she really invested a lot of time and effort into curing Gene and his blatant rejection was like a punch in the face.
In her inner thoughts, she already strategized about how to deal with Crisillyir and the whole colonial issue in the future and at that point, she realized that some kind of war against the Clergy might be inevitable. But this time, it better resulted in a “the world vs. the Clergy” scenario. She had not given up hope completely, as she knew that people could change and maybe someone would be willing to try something akin to Sawyer in one of the Crisillyiri colonies.
And yep, she has to constantly face the urge to annihilate whoever seems to threaten her people or the Enclaves. Because, how else should she deal with people who deny her kin the right to exist? Even if she knew that this might have been very well the path that led Kasvarina to darkness.
But to be honest, Auryn didn't think too highly of “mortal humans” before she actually met them either. First, she saw them as invaders, threats and enemies. Then she realized how harmless and pathetic they were. Then she met their greed and was utterly disgusted. It took years and the influence of Morris and Milena Dawkins to make her respect them)
So next we go to Seobriga to check if and when Leone Quintal arrived in the city. But it seems like he never made it there and some local dockers and sailors can tell us that the Isabella had a rendezvous with the Cold Vessel, a liner to Alais Primos she met at high sea. We suspect that Leone used this opportunity to switch ships and divert his trail. So Alais Primos should be next on our list.
As the Crisillyiri capital is far more into the mainland, we guess that wandering around as an Eladrin wouldn't be the best of ideas. So Auryn and Carlyle do their best to disguise her as a human woman.
(Carlyle is really talented when it come to make-up and disguises. He mixes some of the stuff himself and uses it to hide his Deva markings every day. He's always more comfortable blending in with the crowd than sticking out.
We also joked about who would need more time for their individual morning routine... Carlyle, who puts a lot of effort into shaving, lotions and said make-up, but doesn't need that much for his hair or dress or Auryn, who doesn't do much make-up and simply needs cold, refreshing water, but tends to let her unseen servant go wild on her hair and has the more elaborate and complicated wardrobe)
As soon as we are in Alais Primos, we try to ignore the temptation of a longer sightseeing tour and directly follow Leone's trail to the pink cathedral of St. Tromboni (Auryn shakes her head at such a gaudy, distasteful non-style), ask a few people and find out that Signore Quintal had rented a room in a pension a couple of days ago. As this doesn't lead us much further, we then decide to pick up Delft's hint and visit his old contact, Joe Hobner.
So we head to Hobner's import business where we are met by a laid-back, yet charming man. When we mention his old comrade, Stover Delft, who recommended him as a guide for Alais Primos, he warms up even more and invites us to a drink to have a chat about his past as an RHC agent. He then tells a few anecdotes about his misadventures with “dear Stover” and then asks us about our reason for being in Alais Primos.
(this came a bit of a surprise, as no one in Flint knew what kind of man Delft had been during his time as an active field agent. He didn't share the mimic story though and... considering Hobner's true nature, this was so surprising in hindsight)
So we tell him that we're looking for one dangerous man with especially dangerous metal-manipulating powers who goes by the name of Leone Quintal. Hobner nods seemingly knowing and offers us a drink. Both of us choose the wine (hey, we're in Crisillyir!) and while Auryn takes a sip and notices that the wine is unusually bitter for such a fine one, Carlyle actually smells that something is off even before he tries it.
“This is strychnine. Don't have any more of that, Auryn. It is poisonous.” he says sternly while drawing his Kukris, pointing them at Hobner.
“You. Talk. Now.”
Hobner puts up a half-smile as if he wasn't too surprised that someone noticed the poison, then pulls out a strange sizzling device called Dazer (I see what you did there) and tries to electrocute Carlyle. Needless to say that his attempts are quite futile and he quickly ends up being knocked out.
Before we tie up “Hobner”, Carlyle asks Auryn whether she is feeling any kind of numbness or over-stimulus and Auryn replies that her fingertips are tingling, but that she's fine otherwise. Carlyle doesn't want to risk her health though, so he starts mixing an antidote. While he's at it, the backdoor opens and a small group of kobolds, led by a prominent figure with red scales, enter the scene.
“No reason to be surprised” says El Extrano, bowing gallantly before twirling his tendrils.
“Well, this time it actually is a surprise to see you”, Carlyle replies while eyeing the other kobolds carefully.
As soon as they see what Carlyle is up to, they hand us small vials of antidote and say that they knew this man was preparing to poison someone, which is why they brought these in advance. We thank the kobolds and El Extrano, who goes on to tell us that he and his Bruse got interested in the “conspiracy”, and that their trail led them here. He realized that this Hobner guy had been replaced by some conspirator and so he was curious about what he was up to.
El Extrano asks us to maybe take a little more time to chat with him, but we suggest that we probably do so elsewhere and add that we'd first have to tell our Chief Inspector Delft that his old friend is dead. That, and we need to get information from this assassin. Which we are more than willing to share with the kobolds.
So we take the assassin and teleport back to the RHC where we bring the bad news to Delft. First, he seems shocked, but then he's fuming in rage over the death of his close friend Joe. We agree that we'll interrogate the man, who turns out to go by the name of Robert the Black, together. Robert unfortunately isn't really an Ob himself, but seems to be rather hired by them to discard of nosy RHC agents. Just a job, he explains.
Carlyle smiles grimly at his explanation and casually mentions that assassins like him better consider the damage they do and that now we're going to leave him alone with the man whose friend he killed. So good luck with Delft.
(There is his rather ruthless side again. And yep, Delft was really glad that we brought Robert to him. To be honest, we don't really know how dark Delft can become when it comes to people who crossed him or his friends.)
We return to Alais Primos to meet up with El Extrano and his gang again. We tell him that Robert didn't know more about the Obs and our kobold acquaintance doesn't seem surprised at all.
“Sorry that we weren't able to save poor Joe” Extrano says while smoking his oversized pipe.
We reply that the beran spies were of great help already, so no hard feelings. El Extrano then explains that his kobolds got quite the functioning spy network among the dock workers in Alais Primos, so he would totally lend us his hand should we need it. We agree that both our nations have suffered from the Obscurti conspiracy, so it would be in both their interest if we joined forces in terms of intelligence.
Carlyle is curious about the reason why the berans would be so interested in Crisillyir in the first place and Auryn muses that it might trace back to the reign of the Dragon Tyrants who wanted to keep a close eye on their rivals. She then adds that Ber has always been wary of missionaries and been friendly to Elfaivaran refugees, so maybe they just wanted to make sure to know about Crisillyir's possible actions and reactions in advance.
El Extrano doesn't know more about this subject, but he seems genuinely friendly. He then hands us the Kodex of the Little People and asks us to read it so we may understand the perspective of the smallfolk. We reply that we do value his input and wouldn't dare to treat goblins or kobolds as less than the larger people just because of their size. The kobold seems contempt with this answer and then share his latest information about Leone Quintal with us: That he heard the man traveled to Enzyo Mons a couple of days ago. So it seems as if we'd have to scale a volcano next.
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