NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7361802" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 45, Part One - One Does Not Simply Walk Into MethiaSome of the matters covered this week occurred before Matunaaga’s departure, simultaneous to the ‘downtime’ part of last week:Needless to say, there are real concerns about the Dead Magic Zone and the effect it will have on each of the unit members.  Leon, Gupta and Kasvarina, for example, know that their spells won’t work, although all three have some martial ability to make up for this lack. Gupta wonders about her lycanthropy.  Leon thinks she’ll ‘stick in whatever form she’s in when she enters the zone.  Others, such as Rumdoom and Uru, won’t be stymied too much, but need to take precautions (such as a suit of mundane armour for Rumdoom and camouflage gear for Uru (white and beige to blend with the dusty alabaster of the ruined city)).  But magic items won’t work, which is a major problem – all save powerful artefacts such as the Humble Hook and the Arc of Reida itself.  (This is of some consolation, as it is hoped they might be able to teleport out of Methia when the Arc activates.)Uriel is not sure how his abilities will function in Methia, or if they will function at all. Presently, he can choose from all of the abilities his many incarnations once possessed, but must select a ‘suite’ modest enough for the human mind (albeit a transcendent one) to cope with. Will those powers become fixed on entering the zone? Or vanish altogether? One bit of bad news comes courtesy of Rumdoom, whose cult informs him of a group of eschatologists who have chosen to make their home in Methia:  Most are deva who hope that the zone will prevent them from reincarnating when they die.Quratulain is reassured by reports that eidolons, golems and undead function in the zone, although their power dwindles over time. She studies an ancient map of the city, noting that the Eglise river will be the easiest way to travel there. The city is divided into two main areas – the eastern Urbem Postularis, a rubble-strewn ruin; and the relatively pristine Holy Methia, still surrounded by an ancient wall accessible by three gates: Ostium Judicii, Ostium Pietatem, and Ostium Splendoris – the gates of judgment, piety, and splendour.  Quratulain learns of keys to these gates that are still held by the clergy.Ken Don and Aulus Atticus are too low-ranking to help here: Don tells them that the keys, if they still exist, will be held by senior ranking hierarchs. Perhaps Morgan Cippiano can assist them if they can get to the bottom of the El Primo case? On a hunch, Korrigan has asked Uru to seek out kobolds in an attempt to parley with El Extrano. Uru is successful and follows a kobold into a warehouse where he finds the kobold spymaster waiting for him! El Extrano already knows what Uru wants, but says (several times, with pointed stress) that the Beran government does not want to interfere with internal politics. Having got this message across, he wins a stealth-off with Uru.  (It turns out he was standing behind Uru the whole time!)Korrigan takes this heavy hint to Delft who is oddly exasperated by his insistence.  “Why are you wasting your time on this of all things?” Korrigan reminds him exactly why and points out that it was he, Delft, who encouraged him to curry favour with the Family against Korrigan’s better judgement.  (In fact it was always left to Malthusius to deal with such matters as it left a sour taste in Korrigan’s mouth.) “That’s because they looked a damn sight better than Lorcan Kell,” says Delft.  Nonetheless, Delft’s behaviour raises suspicions for the first time in all their dealings.  Quratulain – present at this meeting and fresh from her induction – speaks up: “My master wishes to know what you are hiding.” Delft cannot maintain his deception any longer. He is unhappy to have kept this from Korrigan and confesses that ‘El Primo’ is a front for an extra-judicial effort on the part of the RHC to stymie the Family and hamper the excessive import of dangerous, addictive substances into the city. To prevent leaks, only Delft and Alden Wondermaker were in on it – this was all a part of Delft’s solo attempt to pacify Wondermaker with concessions on issues that directly affected the underclass, as the depredations of organised crime always do.  Unit B had been assigned to the case and Delft had been able to successfully misdirect them and keep them so busy with other matters that it was impossible for them to concentrate on the case. Time to come clean: El Primo is in fact a mind-controlled octopus operated by Wondermaker! Caught out and embarrassed Delft is keen to help. How about they hand ‘El Primo’ to Ludo Marcione on a platter? (“Calamari, anyone?”) Give him the arrest and do Cippiano a favour. Upright as ever, Korrigan decides against it. He had thought El Primo was just another criminal; “Keep up the pressure on Cippiano” he says, and turns down the opportunity to earn a Methia gate key.Having already learned from Amielle Latimer that a large number of troops have recently begun conducting ‘manoeuvres’ in Methia, Korrigan is disappointed when his new Danoran friends – political opponents of Han Jierre – prove unwilling to assist any incursion.  The risk is too great; they fear their own involvement will be revealed when (not if) the unit is caught. So Rumdoom goes to visit his friend Tilish Dredgeport for advice.  Once a notorious smuggler, Dredgeport gives an awed whistle at the prospect and says that only the Dockers could pull off something like that. Fortunately, Gupta is well known among the Dockers and, despite fresh reservations about revisiting her parents’ old haunts, visits the Thinking Man Tavern and – having received yet another hero’s welcome – is ushered into the presence of Thames Grimsley.  Grimsley ponders the matter and then melodramatically reveals that the unit’s old friend Sly Marbo is currently operating behind enemy lines in Danor – just as he had in the run-up to the unit’s mission on the Avery Coast Rail Line.  His mission had been so successful then that despite the fact it almost cost him his life, Marbo volunteered to return and now reports to the Dockers, the RHC, and possibly the Unseen Court. While Marbo could be a slippery fish and his loyalties were never certain, if anyone could arrange to smuggle them up the busy Eglise, Marbo could.</blockquote>

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