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Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Tizbiz" data-source="post: 7221094" data-attributes="member: 6874057"><p>Recap 10</p><p></p><p>The next few days are pretty calm, so we finally get some time to relax. Gabriel Carlyle uses his spare time to do more research on the lost Vantrys factories as he still wants his Lord to regain financial independence from Goodson. (<span style="color: #0000ff">Him spending quite some time to imporve his former lords financial status made me think about where this whole Goodson thing was going and gave me evil ideas, But i did act about this only a few sessions later.</span>) </p><p></p><p>Auryn tries to gather more information about the upcoming wedding of Goodson and Cecilia Fordren. She, or more specifically, Calla Aurea, manages to get hired as a singer for the engagement festivities on the Avery Isles. As she knows Cecilia to be a Danoran woman, she plans to prepare some traditional or popular songss from Danor.</p><p></p><p>After some chill weeks of training and doing some smaller jobs in the RHC (<span style="color: #008000">mostly researching older cases</span>), we are summoned to Delft's office. He orders us to travel to Elba Island and interrogate the traitor Duchess who is held imprisoned there. We are pretty surprised by this appointment but Delft explains that the King has recently read a lengthy interview with his sister and got the impression that she really regrets what she's done. As he fears that he might be biased due to his strong ties with his sister, King Aodhan asked specifically for people who know both Ethelyn's crimes and her character. In other words: he wants us to examine whether his sister genuinely repents her sins. (<span style="color: #0000ff">I always wondered, if the Duchess could be used again in a meaningful way. I even thought it would be a nice twist, if she could be redeemd. Because of this i decided to see, what the players reactions were.</span>)</p><p></p><p>Carlyle is skeptical about the whole plan as he fears that King Aodhan might treat his sister with an unreasonable, almost inappropriate softness just because she's his family and points out that the only reasonable punishment for high treason is the death penalty. Still he agrees to talk to Ethelyn in order to get a complete picture of her situation and character. Plus Auryn kind of teases him as being „RHC's master inquisitor“ who should better live up to his expectations. (<span style="color: #0000ff">Auryn teases him a lot.</span>)</p><p></p><p>After a swift voyage aboard the „Impossible“ and a short reunion with Captain Smith (<span style="color: #008000">luckily he's alive and kicking after his transfer of Asrabey and Nathan Jierre</span>), we land on a small, almost idyllic island in the eastern sea. There we find Ethelyn working in the garden of what seems to be a small farm. It seems like she's kind of enjoying the hard, manual labor and she's all sweaty and covered in dirt. (<span style="color: #0000ff">The Duchess is actually a nice granny like the queen mum?</span>)</p><p></p><p>She doesn't object to our questioning and is almost eager to explain her situation. We ask her about her plans for the attack on the Coaltongue, her intentions and ideas. She tells us that all she did was just because she wanted to keep Risur safe and acted in her country's best interests. She explains that she had tried to warn her brother about her vision and the threat that unchecked industrialization imposes for years, but that she had been ignored. </p><p></p><p>She also mentions that killing her brother had never been her intention – all she wanted to do was to prove that technology was not safe and could malfunction at any time. She had been pretty sure that Harkover Lee would have saved Aodhan and the others – a thought we find dangerously naive. Ethelyn expresses her grief for all the soldiers who died in the brief civil war, an outcome she had never wished for as well. She had believed that all of the Unseen Court would have taken her side of the conflict after Beshela had made her move and was utterly shocked that they had send an Avenger to kill her instead. </p><p></p><p>We tell her that she must have known that her actions might easily have ignited another open war with Dannor, but she kind of brushes this argument off as she believes that back then she literally had no other choice. She had hoped to be nominated Risur's next queen and could have ended all animosities with Danor herself then. </p><p></p><p>We come to the conclusion that Ethelyns deeds were not driven by greed, envy or the temptation of power, but rather motivated by believing that she was trying to do what's best for Risur. We are also pretty sure that she's not one of the „true patriots“ conspirators either. Still we are not sure whether she sees all of her deeds as the mistakes they were. Which is why we are also not sure whether she would or could do the same mistakes again. (<span style="color: #0000ff">well, seems that back fired, I had hoped for them being more ready to help her redeem herself.</span>)</p><p></p><p>We advise her, who claims herself to be a „friend of the Fey“ to follow their teachings more closely and to act less impulsively the next time. We also explain her our own view on visions (<span style="color: #008000">as we recently had our own share of Skyseer madness</span>): That the true meaning of visions is never as cear as we might think and that some visions might even point to a lot of different interpretations if one thinks about them long enough. In regards to technology, one should take a careful look at both sides of the coin before making judgements. We agree that the industrialization of Risur and especially Flint has some negative consequences and that this trend has to be kept in check and not left to the industrilalists.</p><p></p><p>Last but not least, Auryn tells Ethelyn about Nevard's last vision which seems to disconnect Ethelyns own vision with the Coaltongue. We secretly tell her about our fear that Governor Stanfield could be involved in the „true patriot“ conspiracy and the Duchess is more than concearned. She asks us to keep an eye on the matter and we promise her to do so. </p><p></p><p>After returning to Flint, Delft asks us to travel to Slate to report back to King Aodhan. Turns out that our meeting with both King and Prime Minister is of rather informal nature, as we're about to meet the duo in the King's private dining room for breakfast. Both men seem to share a special kind of friendship and trust as they jokingly share each other's food which they bring to the table themselves. As the meeting is pretty devoid of servants and personnel (<span style="color: #008000">Aodhan even shushed them away and told them that he'd care for himself</span>), Mr. Carlyle is rather piqued by such a presumed breach of protocol. Yet he cannot really say anything against his King's preferences which in turn amuses Auryn. (<span style="color: #0000ff">I had king Aodhan butter slices of bread for his guests and the funny faces of the shocked constables were priceless. The mood at the breakfast was more like having one at a hunting trip and the king and his mage setting aside fine table manners.</span>)</p><p>We give both men our report on our meeting with Duchess Ethelyn and it seems like the King is looking for an opportunity to give his sister an occupation, hoping that she might redeem herself. Mr. Carlyle carefully explains his concerns for such a plan as he fears that the populace of Risur might call him out for favoritism. After all, the Duchess committed nothing short of high treason, a crime that pretty much calls for her death. Auryn shares her colleague's concerns, but also understands the King's feelings. She suggests that maybe the King could offer a number of amnesties to repentant criminals who wish to serve Risur instead of rotting in their cells as part of his upcoming wedding with Lia Jierre. Should Ethelyn then appear on one of these amnesties, it could then only be seen as part of the King's generosity towards his subjects. (<span style="color: #0000ff">i was pleasantly surprised, when the players suggested this. Yet only time will tell what happens after the peace summit.</span>)</p><p></p><p>All those present applaud Auryn's quick thinking and agree on her plan. Harkover Lee tasks us with the „mission“ of finding other candidates who'd qualify for auch an amnesty. (<span style="color: #008000">Going through masses of files and documents is one of our specialties, eh?</span>)</p><p></p><p>Next, we speak about the MacBannin incident and our suspicion that there might be some kind of conspiracy within Risur's borders. Together we discuss who in Lanjyr might be benefitting from a continuing war between Danor and Risur or a disturbance of peace. We assume a number of possible scenarios, ranging from the interests of greedy businessmen to disillusioned veterans to actual patriots who'd maybe want to construct a weapon to rid Risur of the Fey Titan threat. Another scenario could be that Crisillyir tries to get rid of the uncouth „Fey Lovers“ of Risur and the „Cursed Devils“ from Danor in one cataclysmic war. As far off as this theory might sound, the Crisillyiri see devils everywhere (<span style="color: #008000">including Elfaivar</span>) and have good knowledge about the Bleak Gate. </p><p></p><p>We also discuss the mysterious Leone Quintal, his metal-shaping powers (<span style="color: #008000">which might be due to a draconic sorcerous bloodline... wasn't there a „Steel Lord“ dragon who died 200 years ago?</span>). Unfortunately, such powers seem strange even for the magic expert Harkover Lee and so we plan to be extra cautious should the guy and his goons reappear somewhere else. </p><p></p><p>King Aodhan also shows some serious concerns for the safety of Cauldron Hill, now that its Guardian Macbannin is dead. We all hope that the magical seal which he formed during his last sacrifice will keep the dark forces in check until a new mayor is found. We also mention that we might not be that much up to date in the causa Macbannin in the near future as Team 1 has been given the case. We add that we totally understand the political reasons for this move and that we don't mean to insult our Lady Saxby by bringing this up. Still, Harkover Lee asks us to keep our eyes open as we are clearly the ones with the most expertise and might be up to something big regarding the possible „true patriot“ conspiracy. </p><p></p><p>Besides his encouragement, Prime Minister Harkover Lee prefers staying in the background and leaves much of the talking to King Aodhan. He seems to be more interested in eating lots and lots of (<span style="color: #008000">really delicious</span>) ham and we can only wonder how he keeps up his rather slender figure. Good metabolism, we guess. Auryn mentions that she thinks both King and „First Man“ make quite a good „couple“ as they seem to share an uncomplicated relationship. Carlyle is curious about how Lee got into his position and where he learned his exceptional magics as he had to be quite unknown in his youth. </p><p></p><p>After returning back to Flint, we immediately ask for our first batch of files for the upcoming amnesties. </p><p></p><p>A few days later, Goodson's engagement festivities take place in his estate on the Avery Isles. Auryn partakes as the masked Calla Aurea and she's quite surprised to see that the really young bride-to-be is accompanied by „Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle“. She instantly recognizes Mrs. Carlyle as the student Julia Fymarsö who „borrowed“ her friend Nymeia's data for her presentation and concludes that the young gentleman at her side must be the mysterious other Carlyle. As he looks quite a bit like her colleague, she muses that he might be family with „her own“ Mr. Carlyle. She keeps in the background to avoid any collision with Julia Carlyle and witnesses the arrival of Lord Vantrys, who is accompanied by a richly dressed Jack, and finally Guy Goodson. </p><p></p><p>Auryn notices that Cecilia Fordren seems to be more interested in Mr. Carlyle than her future husband and that this fact seems to incite jealousy in Mrs. Carlyle. Goodson doesn't seem that emotionally invested in Cecilia either, so this all looks like nothing more than a big, fancy business affair. She tries to make contact with Cecilia and finds out that the young woman lost her father in the last Yerasol War and that her mother is currently busy in Cherage. As the Carlyles are business partners and share a family branch with the Fordrens, she's currently staying with them in Flint. Fortunately for Auryn, Calla Aurea's performance is a big hit with the audience. Plus Francis Fordren, Cecilia's uncle, is nowhere to be seen either. (<span style="color: #0000ff">I felt it was to early for Auryn and Fordren to meet.</span>)</p><p></p><p>The day after, Carlyle is invited by his „descendants“ (<span style="color: #008000">technically, they are his brother's descendants</span>) to a cup of tea in their new estate in Central District. For their small tea party, both Mr. And Mrs Carlyle, as well as Cecilia Fordren are present. Yet the two women are soon bored by their male counterparts as the earlier smalltalk descends into discussing intricate business details. When they notice that their conversation becomes rather technical, both men move to the Billard room of the estate to continue their discussion over a game of snooker and some good tobacco.</p><p></p><p>During the talk Carlyle (<span style="color: #008000">the elder</span>) gets to know that his brother had moved to Danor after the war of the second victory to start a business there. He took a good risk during the turmoil of the past and his family had to endure many hardships before starting to prosper. After a while, the Carlyle family became entangled with a branch of the Fordren family who's in charge of Fordren Industries. Today, the leadership of the company has primarily fallen to Francis Fordren who still manages the biggest business decisions. (<span style="color: #0000ff">The main branch of the Carlyle family is heavily involved in the Avery Coast train business but Mr Carlyle junior works for Mr. Fordren.</span>) </p><p></p><p>The Carlyles plan to import goods from Danor to sell them on the ever growing marketplace that is Risur, and especially Flint. This is the main reason why they are so interested in forging close bonds with powerful Risuri industrialists like Goodson. Carlyle wishes this younger counterpart good luck, but reminds him to adapt his business model to the local circumstances and traditions. He especially encourages him to offer good conditions for employees after Carlyle the younger explains that workers are basically not much more than cattle in Danor. Carlyle the elder tells his relative that right now, some of the more specialized factory owners, like Heward Sechim, try to establish a codex of basic rights and that those „humanists“ might offer better conditions to business partners who share their views. </p><p></p><p>The next day, Delft has a new job for Team 3: We are to take care for the safety for the Kaybeau Arms & Technology Exposition (<span style="color: #008000">or KATE</span>). The exposition takes place near the new Kaybeau railway station and is basically part of the opening ceremony. As both local police and RHC are stationed there, we should report to Sarah Lockheart as our liaison officer. </p><p></p><p>We introduce ourselves to Mrs. Lockheart and immediately start exploring and checking the fair booths. Most exhibitors seem rather harmless, but we manage to find a barrel of witchoil at the booth of a certain Colleen who exhibits all kinds of engines. She tries to explain that she got the fuel from a merchant in Bosum Strand (<span style="color: #008000">which we believe</span>) and that she didn't really know that buying it was forbidden. We tell her that the oil is pretty dangerous and confiscate it to have it checked up at the RHC HQ.</p><p></p><p>We also come by a booth where canned food is produced and sold. Auryn is delighted by the thought of buying a good meal that can be stored for weeks. She admits that she has never learned how to cook food (<span style="color: #008000">she knows how to make „something“ out of fruit, grilled fish and vegetables but that's it. And she really enjoys good food.</span>) and praises this new invention. Carlyle is skeptical at first and mentions that no one can beat a skilled chef when it comes to proper cuisine. Auryn takes his comment as invitation and asks him whether he'd cook something for her as well if she'd provide the raw materials for both of them. (<span style="color: #0000ff">Auryn bought some cans to take home.</span>)</p><p></p><p>We also find an exhibitor who sells all kinds of artificial means of making music, ranging from a small music box to a full-scale mechanized orchestra. Auryn finds the thought of artificial music very creepy and devoid of emotion while Carlyle is fascinated. Unfortunately, even the boxes cost quite a fortune and so the Deva has to give it a pass.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle notices that his colleague seems to finally be her relaxed and quite vivacious self again after she had encountered so much death on Axis Island. He doesn't mention it to her or Margit though.</p><p></p><p>Another „booth“ (<span style="color: #008000">or rather big tent</span>) is that of Fordren industries which seems pretty intriguing, especially to Auryn. They exhibit both weapons and automated bodies / suits and large areas seem off-limits for the average expo guest. Before we are forced to go through the whole „we are RHC so puh-lease show us ALL of your stuff“ protocol, a young Mr. Carlyle greets the three of us and offers to show us around. He tells us that some parts are restricted and for the Risuri military eyes only. This way we get to see some prototypes of the „railgun“ sketches we saw back on Axis Island. What intrugues us (<span style="color: #008000">and especially Mr. Carlyle</span>) most is the B.E.A.R, a large automated bear unit. Carlyle the younger explains that the replicant is totally safe and ready to use and Carlyle the elder promises to recommend buying a B.E.A.R for the RHC to Delft. (<span style="color: #0000ff">Even after another 8 Sessions the automaton is still often mentioned jokingly. The players still love the B.E.A.R.</span>)</p><p>Auryn prefers to stay in the background as she is constantly on alert, fearing that she might run into Francis Fordren any time now. Her paranoia pays off as she and Carlyle spot the guy while he's about to discuss business with Guy Goodson in a back office. After the two men shake hands, Goodson turns into our direction while Fordren vanishes in another office. </p><p></p><p>As Carlyle is still busy with Carlyle, Goodson greets Auryn whom he recognizes to be one of the RHC agents who averted a total disaster on the Coaltongue. He honestly thanks her for saving his life back then. When Auryn tries to downplay their feat and claims that this is simply their job as RHC agents and also congratulates Goodson on his engagement with Cecilia Fordren, he insists on repaying the debt and invites the two of us to his wedding. When Auryn tells the businessman that she doesn't know whether they'll have time to spare and whether their boss will allow them leisure time, he brushes the argument off and blatanty tells her that he does know how to pull Saxby's strings. </p><p></p><p>Auryn is relieved that she managed to avoid a confrontation with Fordren while Carlyle is still fascinated by the B.E.A.R. She tells Carlyle about the invitation and all of a sudden seems rather nervous about the fact that she couldn't just excuse herself. </p><p>(<span style="color: #008000">Well yes, of course she would be stressed by the fact that the bride's uncle surely wouldn't miss the party and now that Goodson invited her, she'd have no chance to hide behind Calla Aurea. Thanks, Goodson. Also thanks, Delft for not mentioning the fact that Fordren could be present at the KATE.</span>) (<span style="color: #0000ff">Well, the party will be canceled but that is a story for a future session.</span>)</p><p></p><p>Shortly after, we meet a half-giant namend Knock who'd like to sell a really big seven-rounds gun to us. He's doing his best to help „tiny Auryn“ aim at his targets, but nevertheless she politely declines the offer due to her „feeble elven arms“. Carlyle's fantasy on the other hand seems to take flight as he imagines installing the gun atop the B.E.A.R. Oh, the possibilities... (<span style="color: #0000ff">Knock just dragged Auryn to his booth and gently forced her to fire the gun. I was a little surprised that the players took that so calmly.</span>) </p><p></p><p>Just when we are about to visit the last section of the exhibition, we hear rumors about a possible concert of Rock Rackus. Auryn doesn't have too many kind words for Rock's style of music, but she acknowledges his fame. We manage to meet up with the artist in his tent just before the event is about to take place and we share a few words with him. To our surpirise, he remembers Auryn from her own engagements and invites us to share stories with him. He tells us about the „invisible court“ and his journey to the moon during which he got his pistol magically enchanted by a fey. While we try to disbelieve his stories, he does seem to have convincing proof and shows us all of his artifacts, including an amulet of the ancients. He doesn't really know where he got this one from and we think it might stem from the same culture that made the grave we found during out trip with Wolmi Heff'anita, Nymeia and Julia Fymarsö. Auryn is busy correcting Rock's spelling and explanations (<span style="color: #008000">Stannis stlye!</span>) while Carlyle finds him to be particularly unnerving. We politely ask him to not fire his pistol or even load his golden bullets into his gun during the concert, but fear that our pleas might fall on deaf ears. (<span style="color: #0000ff">its scary, when the players kind of foresee what might happen. „I told you so!“</span>)</p><p></p><p>Then we hear screams from the outside. We run out of the tent just to see some grotesque monsters near an ammunition booth. One of the monsters, a tentacled Phaerimm-lookalike with teeth carries a dwarf in its tentacles while the other four look like giant mosquitoes, All of them seem to be ghostly, as if they were not really there. On top of that, a young man who's wielding a golden staff tries to fight the flying beasts, but he looks all terrified and doesn't really seem to know what he's doing. </p><p></p><p>We rush to the „wizard's“ help, but have to witness the dwarf getting tossed through the Phaerimm's body, losing consciousness in the process. The monster seems to become corporal though and we start fighting it and its „comrades“. The wizard uses his staff, but the magic missiles, while truely effective against the incorporeal flying things, just seem to conjure more of the beasts. Auryn calls for the man to stop casting and casts a sleep spell on some of the flying beasts. Carlyle starts fighting the tentacled beast, but his attacks don't really do much. Fortunately, we recieve help in form of a dwarven gunner who has a really good aim. To our terror, Rock Rackus also joins the fight and manages to shoot a random bystander. </p><p>Another Phaerimm appears after another magic missile volley and luckily Mr. Wizard comes to the conclusion that he's not helping at all by summoning more monsters. Carlyle finishes off the corporeal Phaerimm while the other one seems particularly interested in Auryn. She fights back and is relieved that her assumption that Recklinghausen's anti-aberration rapier might actually harm the creatures was correct. This one becomes corporeal after being hit by her weapon and together with Carlyle they kill the last of them. (<span style="color: #0000ff">I changed Recklinghausens Rapier´s Properties because Auryn´s player will probably keep it as her main weapon during the whole campaign.</span>) </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the dwarf, Kvarty Gorbatiy subdues Rock Rackus before he can do any more harm. (<span style="color: #0000ff">Dwarven Judo Style, Yeaah!</span>) Auryn rushes to the badly wounded bystander's help and heals him magically. This ejects the golden projectile from the victim's body and the crowd instantly recognizes the bullet to be one of Rock's. Someone starts calling Rock a murderer and wants to go get him, and we barely manage to prevent the formation of a full-fledged lynchmob.</p><p></p><p>We also subdue the terrified wizard and take both Rock and the wizard into custody and ask Kvarty to accompany us and answer some routine questions. Meanwhile, Margit has the job to tend for the wounded.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tizbiz, post: 7221094, member: 6874057"] Recap 10 The next few days are pretty calm, so we finally get some time to relax. Gabriel Carlyle uses his spare time to do more research on the lost Vantrys factories as he still wants his Lord to regain financial independence from Goodson. ([COLOR=#0000ff]Him spending quite some time to imporve his former lords financial status made me think about where this whole Goodson thing was going and gave me evil ideas, But i did act about this only a few sessions later.[/COLOR]) Auryn tries to gather more information about the upcoming wedding of Goodson and Cecilia Fordren. She, or more specifically, Calla Aurea, manages to get hired as a singer for the engagement festivities on the Avery Isles. As she knows Cecilia to be a Danoran woman, she plans to prepare some traditional or popular songss from Danor. After some chill weeks of training and doing some smaller jobs in the RHC ([COLOR=#008000]mostly researching older cases[/COLOR]), we are summoned to Delft's office. He orders us to travel to Elba Island and interrogate the traitor Duchess who is held imprisoned there. We are pretty surprised by this appointment but Delft explains that the King has recently read a lengthy interview with his sister and got the impression that she really regrets what she's done. As he fears that he might be biased due to his strong ties with his sister, King Aodhan asked specifically for people who know both Ethelyn's crimes and her character. In other words: he wants us to examine whether his sister genuinely repents her sins. ([COLOR=#0000ff]I always wondered, if the Duchess could be used again in a meaningful way. I even thought it would be a nice twist, if she could be redeemd. Because of this i decided to see, what the players reactions were.[/COLOR]) Carlyle is skeptical about the whole plan as he fears that King Aodhan might treat his sister with an unreasonable, almost inappropriate softness just because she's his family and points out that the only reasonable punishment for high treason is the death penalty. Still he agrees to talk to Ethelyn in order to get a complete picture of her situation and character. Plus Auryn kind of teases him as being „RHC's master inquisitor“ who should better live up to his expectations. ([COLOR=#0000ff]Auryn teases him a lot.[/COLOR]) After a swift voyage aboard the „Impossible“ and a short reunion with Captain Smith ([COLOR=#008000]luckily he's alive and kicking after his transfer of Asrabey and Nathan Jierre[/COLOR]), we land on a small, almost idyllic island in the eastern sea. There we find Ethelyn working in the garden of what seems to be a small farm. It seems like she's kind of enjoying the hard, manual labor and she's all sweaty and covered in dirt. ([COLOR=#0000ff]The Duchess is actually a nice granny like the queen mum?[/COLOR]) She doesn't object to our questioning and is almost eager to explain her situation. We ask her about her plans for the attack on the Coaltongue, her intentions and ideas. She tells us that all she did was just because she wanted to keep Risur safe and acted in her country's best interests. She explains that she had tried to warn her brother about her vision and the threat that unchecked industrialization imposes for years, but that she had been ignored. She also mentions that killing her brother had never been her intention – all she wanted to do was to prove that technology was not safe and could malfunction at any time. She had been pretty sure that Harkover Lee would have saved Aodhan and the others – a thought we find dangerously naive. Ethelyn expresses her grief for all the soldiers who died in the brief civil war, an outcome she had never wished for as well. She had believed that all of the Unseen Court would have taken her side of the conflict after Beshela had made her move and was utterly shocked that they had send an Avenger to kill her instead. We tell her that she must have known that her actions might easily have ignited another open war with Dannor, but she kind of brushes this argument off as she believes that back then she literally had no other choice. She had hoped to be nominated Risur's next queen and could have ended all animosities with Danor herself then. We come to the conclusion that Ethelyns deeds were not driven by greed, envy or the temptation of power, but rather motivated by believing that she was trying to do what's best for Risur. We are also pretty sure that she's not one of the „true patriots“ conspirators either. Still we are not sure whether she sees all of her deeds as the mistakes they were. Which is why we are also not sure whether she would or could do the same mistakes again. ([COLOR=#0000ff]well, seems that back fired, I had hoped for them being more ready to help her redeem herself.[/COLOR]) We advise her, who claims herself to be a „friend of the Fey“ to follow their teachings more closely and to act less impulsively the next time. We also explain her our own view on visions ([COLOR=#008000]as we recently had our own share of Skyseer madness[/COLOR]): That the true meaning of visions is never as cear as we might think and that some visions might even point to a lot of different interpretations if one thinks about them long enough. In regards to technology, one should take a careful look at both sides of the coin before making judgements. We agree that the industrialization of Risur and especially Flint has some negative consequences and that this trend has to be kept in check and not left to the industrilalists. Last but not least, Auryn tells Ethelyn about Nevard's last vision which seems to disconnect Ethelyns own vision with the Coaltongue. We secretly tell her about our fear that Governor Stanfield could be involved in the „true patriot“ conspiracy and the Duchess is more than concearned. She asks us to keep an eye on the matter and we promise her to do so. After returning to Flint, Delft asks us to travel to Slate to report back to King Aodhan. Turns out that our meeting with both King and Prime Minister is of rather informal nature, as we're about to meet the duo in the King's private dining room for breakfast. Both men seem to share a special kind of friendship and trust as they jokingly share each other's food which they bring to the table themselves. As the meeting is pretty devoid of servants and personnel ([COLOR=#008000]Aodhan even shushed them away and told them that he'd care for himself[/COLOR]), Mr. Carlyle is rather piqued by such a presumed breach of protocol. Yet he cannot really say anything against his King's preferences which in turn amuses Auryn. ([COLOR=#0000ff]I had king Aodhan butter slices of bread for his guests and the funny faces of the shocked constables were priceless. The mood at the breakfast was more like having one at a hunting trip and the king and his mage setting aside fine table manners.[/COLOR]) We give both men our report on our meeting with Duchess Ethelyn and it seems like the King is looking for an opportunity to give his sister an occupation, hoping that she might redeem herself. Mr. Carlyle carefully explains his concerns for such a plan as he fears that the populace of Risur might call him out for favoritism. After all, the Duchess committed nothing short of high treason, a crime that pretty much calls for her death. Auryn shares her colleague's concerns, but also understands the King's feelings. She suggests that maybe the King could offer a number of amnesties to repentant criminals who wish to serve Risur instead of rotting in their cells as part of his upcoming wedding with Lia Jierre. Should Ethelyn then appear on one of these amnesties, it could then only be seen as part of the King's generosity towards his subjects. ([COLOR=#0000ff]i was pleasantly surprised, when the players suggested this. Yet only time will tell what happens after the peace summit.[/COLOR]) All those present applaud Auryn's quick thinking and agree on her plan. Harkover Lee tasks us with the „mission“ of finding other candidates who'd qualify for auch an amnesty. ([COLOR=#008000]Going through masses of files and documents is one of our specialties, eh?[/COLOR]) Next, we speak about the MacBannin incident and our suspicion that there might be some kind of conspiracy within Risur's borders. Together we discuss who in Lanjyr might be benefitting from a continuing war between Danor and Risur or a disturbance of peace. We assume a number of possible scenarios, ranging from the interests of greedy businessmen to disillusioned veterans to actual patriots who'd maybe want to construct a weapon to rid Risur of the Fey Titan threat. Another scenario could be that Crisillyir tries to get rid of the uncouth „Fey Lovers“ of Risur and the „Cursed Devils“ from Danor in one cataclysmic war. As far off as this theory might sound, the Crisillyiri see devils everywhere ([COLOR=#008000]including Elfaivar[/COLOR]) and have good knowledge about the Bleak Gate. We also discuss the mysterious Leone Quintal, his metal-shaping powers ([COLOR=#008000]which might be due to a draconic sorcerous bloodline... wasn't there a „Steel Lord“ dragon who died 200 years ago?[/COLOR]). Unfortunately, such powers seem strange even for the magic expert Harkover Lee and so we plan to be extra cautious should the guy and his goons reappear somewhere else. King Aodhan also shows some serious concerns for the safety of Cauldron Hill, now that its Guardian Macbannin is dead. We all hope that the magical seal which he formed during his last sacrifice will keep the dark forces in check until a new mayor is found. We also mention that we might not be that much up to date in the causa Macbannin in the near future as Team 1 has been given the case. We add that we totally understand the political reasons for this move and that we don't mean to insult our Lady Saxby by bringing this up. Still, Harkover Lee asks us to keep our eyes open as we are clearly the ones with the most expertise and might be up to something big regarding the possible „true patriot“ conspiracy. Besides his encouragement, Prime Minister Harkover Lee prefers staying in the background and leaves much of the talking to King Aodhan. He seems to be more interested in eating lots and lots of ([COLOR=#008000]really delicious[/COLOR]) ham and we can only wonder how he keeps up his rather slender figure. Good metabolism, we guess. Auryn mentions that she thinks both King and „First Man“ make quite a good „couple“ as they seem to share an uncomplicated relationship. Carlyle is curious about how Lee got into his position and where he learned his exceptional magics as he had to be quite unknown in his youth. After returning back to Flint, we immediately ask for our first batch of files for the upcoming amnesties. A few days later, Goodson's engagement festivities take place in his estate on the Avery Isles. Auryn partakes as the masked Calla Aurea and she's quite surprised to see that the really young bride-to-be is accompanied by „Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle“. She instantly recognizes Mrs. Carlyle as the student Julia Fymarsö who „borrowed“ her friend Nymeia's data for her presentation and concludes that the young gentleman at her side must be the mysterious other Carlyle. As he looks quite a bit like her colleague, she muses that he might be family with „her own“ Mr. Carlyle. She keeps in the background to avoid any collision with Julia Carlyle and witnesses the arrival of Lord Vantrys, who is accompanied by a richly dressed Jack, and finally Guy Goodson. Auryn notices that Cecilia Fordren seems to be more interested in Mr. Carlyle than her future husband and that this fact seems to incite jealousy in Mrs. Carlyle. Goodson doesn't seem that emotionally invested in Cecilia either, so this all looks like nothing more than a big, fancy business affair. She tries to make contact with Cecilia and finds out that the young woman lost her father in the last Yerasol War and that her mother is currently busy in Cherage. As the Carlyles are business partners and share a family branch with the Fordrens, she's currently staying with them in Flint. Fortunately for Auryn, Calla Aurea's performance is a big hit with the audience. Plus Francis Fordren, Cecilia's uncle, is nowhere to be seen either. ([COLOR=#0000ff]I felt it was to early for Auryn and Fordren to meet.[/COLOR]) The day after, Carlyle is invited by his „descendants“ ([COLOR=#008000]technically, they are his brother's descendants[/COLOR]) to a cup of tea in their new estate in Central District. For their small tea party, both Mr. And Mrs Carlyle, as well as Cecilia Fordren are present. Yet the two women are soon bored by their male counterparts as the earlier smalltalk descends into discussing intricate business details. When they notice that their conversation becomes rather technical, both men move to the Billard room of the estate to continue their discussion over a game of snooker and some good tobacco. During the talk Carlyle ([COLOR=#008000]the elder[/COLOR]) gets to know that his brother had moved to Danor after the war of the second victory to start a business there. He took a good risk during the turmoil of the past and his family had to endure many hardships before starting to prosper. After a while, the Carlyle family became entangled with a branch of the Fordren family who's in charge of Fordren Industries. Today, the leadership of the company has primarily fallen to Francis Fordren who still manages the biggest business decisions. ([COLOR=#0000ff]The main branch of the Carlyle family is heavily involved in the Avery Coast train business but Mr Carlyle junior works for Mr. Fordren.[/COLOR]) The Carlyles plan to import goods from Danor to sell them on the ever growing marketplace that is Risur, and especially Flint. This is the main reason why they are so interested in forging close bonds with powerful Risuri industrialists like Goodson. Carlyle wishes this younger counterpart good luck, but reminds him to adapt his business model to the local circumstances and traditions. He especially encourages him to offer good conditions for employees after Carlyle the younger explains that workers are basically not much more than cattle in Danor. Carlyle the elder tells his relative that right now, some of the more specialized factory owners, like Heward Sechim, try to establish a codex of basic rights and that those „humanists“ might offer better conditions to business partners who share their views. The next day, Delft has a new job for Team 3: We are to take care for the safety for the Kaybeau Arms & Technology Exposition ([COLOR=#008000]or KATE[/COLOR]). The exposition takes place near the new Kaybeau railway station and is basically part of the opening ceremony. As both local police and RHC are stationed there, we should report to Sarah Lockheart as our liaison officer. We introduce ourselves to Mrs. Lockheart and immediately start exploring and checking the fair booths. Most exhibitors seem rather harmless, but we manage to find a barrel of witchoil at the booth of a certain Colleen who exhibits all kinds of engines. She tries to explain that she got the fuel from a merchant in Bosum Strand ([COLOR=#008000]which we believe[/COLOR]) and that she didn't really know that buying it was forbidden. We tell her that the oil is pretty dangerous and confiscate it to have it checked up at the RHC HQ. We also come by a booth where canned food is produced and sold. Auryn is delighted by the thought of buying a good meal that can be stored for weeks. She admits that she has never learned how to cook food ([COLOR=#008000]she knows how to make „something“ out of fruit, grilled fish and vegetables but that's it. And she really enjoys good food.[/COLOR]) and praises this new invention. Carlyle is skeptical at first and mentions that no one can beat a skilled chef when it comes to proper cuisine. Auryn takes his comment as invitation and asks him whether he'd cook something for her as well if she'd provide the raw materials for both of them. ([COLOR=#0000ff]Auryn bought some cans to take home.[/COLOR]) We also find an exhibitor who sells all kinds of artificial means of making music, ranging from a small music box to a full-scale mechanized orchestra. Auryn finds the thought of artificial music very creepy and devoid of emotion while Carlyle is fascinated. Unfortunately, even the boxes cost quite a fortune and so the Deva has to give it a pass. Carlyle notices that his colleague seems to finally be her relaxed and quite vivacious self again after she had encountered so much death on Axis Island. He doesn't mention it to her or Margit though. Another „booth“ ([COLOR=#008000]or rather big tent[/COLOR]) is that of Fordren industries which seems pretty intriguing, especially to Auryn. They exhibit both weapons and automated bodies / suits and large areas seem off-limits for the average expo guest. Before we are forced to go through the whole „we are RHC so puh-lease show us ALL of your stuff“ protocol, a young Mr. Carlyle greets the three of us and offers to show us around. He tells us that some parts are restricted and for the Risuri military eyes only. This way we get to see some prototypes of the „railgun“ sketches we saw back on Axis Island. What intrugues us ([COLOR=#008000]and especially Mr. Carlyle[/COLOR]) most is the B.E.A.R, a large automated bear unit. Carlyle the younger explains that the replicant is totally safe and ready to use and Carlyle the elder promises to recommend buying a B.E.A.R for the RHC to Delft. ([COLOR=#0000ff]Even after another 8 Sessions the automaton is still often mentioned jokingly. The players still love the B.E.A.R.[/COLOR]) Auryn prefers to stay in the background as she is constantly on alert, fearing that she might run into Francis Fordren any time now. Her paranoia pays off as she and Carlyle spot the guy while he's about to discuss business with Guy Goodson in a back office. After the two men shake hands, Goodson turns into our direction while Fordren vanishes in another office. As Carlyle is still busy with Carlyle, Goodson greets Auryn whom he recognizes to be one of the RHC agents who averted a total disaster on the Coaltongue. He honestly thanks her for saving his life back then. When Auryn tries to downplay their feat and claims that this is simply their job as RHC agents and also congratulates Goodson on his engagement with Cecilia Fordren, he insists on repaying the debt and invites the two of us to his wedding. When Auryn tells the businessman that she doesn't know whether they'll have time to spare and whether their boss will allow them leisure time, he brushes the argument off and blatanty tells her that he does know how to pull Saxby's strings. Auryn is relieved that she managed to avoid a confrontation with Fordren while Carlyle is still fascinated by the B.E.A.R. She tells Carlyle about the invitation and all of a sudden seems rather nervous about the fact that she couldn't just excuse herself. ([COLOR=#008000]Well yes, of course she would be stressed by the fact that the bride's uncle surely wouldn't miss the party and now that Goodson invited her, she'd have no chance to hide behind Calla Aurea. Thanks, Goodson. Also thanks, Delft for not mentioning the fact that Fordren could be present at the KATE.[/COLOR]) ([COLOR=#0000ff]Well, the party will be canceled but that is a story for a future session.[/COLOR]) Shortly after, we meet a half-giant namend Knock who'd like to sell a really big seven-rounds gun to us. He's doing his best to help „tiny Auryn“ aim at his targets, but nevertheless she politely declines the offer due to her „feeble elven arms“. Carlyle's fantasy on the other hand seems to take flight as he imagines installing the gun atop the B.E.A.R. Oh, the possibilities... ([COLOR=#0000ff]Knock just dragged Auryn to his booth and gently forced her to fire the gun. I was a little surprised that the players took that so calmly.[/COLOR]) Just when we are about to visit the last section of the exhibition, we hear rumors about a possible concert of Rock Rackus. Auryn doesn't have too many kind words for Rock's style of music, but she acknowledges his fame. We manage to meet up with the artist in his tent just before the event is about to take place and we share a few words with him. To our surpirise, he remembers Auryn from her own engagements and invites us to share stories with him. He tells us about the „invisible court“ and his journey to the moon during which he got his pistol magically enchanted by a fey. While we try to disbelieve his stories, he does seem to have convincing proof and shows us all of his artifacts, including an amulet of the ancients. He doesn't really know where he got this one from and we think it might stem from the same culture that made the grave we found during out trip with Wolmi Heff'anita, Nymeia and Julia Fymarsö. Auryn is busy correcting Rock's spelling and explanations ([COLOR=#008000]Stannis stlye![/COLOR]) while Carlyle finds him to be particularly unnerving. We politely ask him to not fire his pistol or even load his golden bullets into his gun during the concert, but fear that our pleas might fall on deaf ears. ([COLOR=#0000ff]its scary, when the players kind of foresee what might happen. „I told you so!“[/COLOR]) Then we hear screams from the outside. We run out of the tent just to see some grotesque monsters near an ammunition booth. One of the monsters, a tentacled Phaerimm-lookalike with teeth carries a dwarf in its tentacles while the other four look like giant mosquitoes, All of them seem to be ghostly, as if they were not really there. On top of that, a young man who's wielding a golden staff tries to fight the flying beasts, but he looks all terrified and doesn't really seem to know what he's doing. We rush to the „wizard's“ help, but have to witness the dwarf getting tossed through the Phaerimm's body, losing consciousness in the process. The monster seems to become corporal though and we start fighting it and its „comrades“. The wizard uses his staff, but the magic missiles, while truely effective against the incorporeal flying things, just seem to conjure more of the beasts. Auryn calls for the man to stop casting and casts a sleep spell on some of the flying beasts. Carlyle starts fighting the tentacled beast, but his attacks don't really do much. Fortunately, we recieve help in form of a dwarven gunner who has a really good aim. To our terror, Rock Rackus also joins the fight and manages to shoot a random bystander. Another Phaerimm appears after another magic missile volley and luckily Mr. Wizard comes to the conclusion that he's not helping at all by summoning more monsters. Carlyle finishes off the corporeal Phaerimm while the other one seems particularly interested in Auryn. She fights back and is relieved that her assumption that Recklinghausen's anti-aberration rapier might actually harm the creatures was correct. This one becomes corporeal after being hit by her weapon and together with Carlyle they kill the last of them. ([COLOR=#0000ff]I changed Recklinghausens Rapier´s Properties because Auryn´s player will probably keep it as her main weapon during the whole campaign.[/COLOR]) Meanwhile, the dwarf, Kvarty Gorbatiy subdues Rock Rackus before he can do any more harm. ([COLOR=#0000ff]Dwarven Judo Style, Yeaah![/COLOR]) Auryn rushes to the badly wounded bystander's help and heals him magically. This ejects the golden projectile from the victim's body and the crowd instantly recognizes the bullet to be one of Rock's. Someone starts calling Rock a murderer and wants to go get him, and we barely manage to prevent the formation of a full-fledged lynchmob. We also subdue the terrified wizard and take both Rock and the wizard into custody and ask Kvarty to accompany us and answer some routine questions. Meanwhile, Margit has the job to tend for the wounded. [/QUOTE]
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