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: 7367473" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 45, Part Four - Causus Belli 2While they were in Slate, Korrigan made sure to visit Ottavia Sacerdote. With Gupta as intermediary, using Danoran sign, Korrigan expressed sincere regret about Ottavia’s ordeal in the vault over the last three years. He also said that he was grateful to her for introducing him to Millerism and that it had really changed his life. He hoped they could both find a common ground. Then he told her much of what he had learned about the Ob and about Nicodemus over the course of his struggle against them and expressed his hope that this information might demonstrate that the Obscurati was not the right path to realise her hopes for the change in the world. While he understood her disillusionment with the corruption of the clergy, the Ob itself was utterly corrupt, and did not offer meaningful change. Korrigan expressed the hope that Ottavia might reconsider her relationship with the Obscurati and join those who have revoked their allegiance to Ob and stood up against it, adding that he himself was thinking and acting as much as he could to make the world a better place, but in a very different way to the Obscurati.  Ottavia remained still throughout their meeting.  Her only response when Korrigan finished was to thank him for his visit and thank him once again for freeing her from the vault. For now, she added, all she sought to do was rest and recover. Korrigan promised they would talk again when he returned from his next mission (and wondered when would be the best time to reveal Nicodemus’ true identity).Following her encounter with Nicodemus, Kasvarina appeared renewed. A weight had gone from her shoulders. During the next few days, she made a point of speaking with each member of the unit in turn.  She offered advice to Rumdoom and Uru on the Icy End of the World Grenades they were working on – asking if they were just having fun, or if they really wanted them to work – in which case, why not involve someone with arcane know-how? They agreed to let her take a look at the project if there was time. She spoke to Gupta about her heritage and told her that her mother’s rabana (which she wore at her waist and used as a focus only for docker’s jank) was a much more powerful item than she realised and could be utilized more broadly. Gupta thanked Kasvarina for this, and for helping her resurrect Helandra. Kasvarina also talked with Uriel, and thanked him for his sagacity with regard to the Arc; he in turn thanked her for accompanying him on his journey. And she offered an apology to Quratulain for what at happened in the vault.  Quratulain said, “We both have bigger fish to fry. You lost your whole family. What are you after? Forgiveness?” Kasvarina took this in her stride and let the matter rest. Finally she spoke to Korrigan. Their conversation was a long one, and would no doubt continue on their journey to Methia, but foremost in Kasvarina’s mind was a solution to the problem of protecting Kai. She knew a ritual – a challenging, draining ritual – which could be used to make the bonds of forced faith permanent (until broken by dispel magic or similar).  It would require Korrigan to sacrifice some of his own life-force, in the same way Gupta had to bring Helandra back to life.But first, Korrigan needed to attend the hastily rescheduled meeting of his old political council. Conscious that his previous efforts had relied too much on his personal involvement (and so came to nothing when he was forced to hide), what Korrigan proposed was a ‘political party’: a group of like-minded individuals who would work together for a common cause. His premise was that the times were changing, and that society and governance had to change with them: “The only way to ensure stability and prosperity of the city or nation is to make sure that all of its people are represented, heard and taken care of. Therefore I propose all likeminded people unite in a formal political force to advance the agenda of change. The party should be open to all classes of society on equal terms. The agenda would include regular popular elections of mayors and the governor of Flint, as well as social guarantees and protections for the lower classes. It would also push for accessible education. I want to stress that this political movement is not anti-progress. On the contrary, it is aimed at bringing social progress up to speed with the technological progress and reconciling it with the old traditions so as to allow both old and new to blend rather than come to conflict.” Korrigan had prepared a manifesto with Kieran Sentacore's help, which he presented and distributed at the meeting.  If accepted by the newly established party it, he planned to print it and distribute it throughout Flint.  He encouraged those present to invite their friends to join and before the closure of the meeting insisted that they draft a plan of action for the immediate future and schedule regular meetings even in absence of Korrigan.  Such was his drive, personal involvement and reputation, it did not require impassioned speeches or soaring rhetoric to win the group over.  His manifesto was thoughtful and impressive and the group left in some excitement to prepare for their next steps.When all outstanding matters were settled to the unit’s satisfaction, they headed for the docks to liaise with Captain Smith.  Their ship was being loaded with supplies, and would set sail the following day to bring the unit as close to Danor as they dared. Phantom steeds would bring them to Sly Marbo’s boat, which would then set sail up the Eglise.  Kai was excited to see the ships.  Gith vessels, though elegant and fast, were far smaller: these were truly huge.  He ran ahead excitedly when Korrigan pointed out the Impossible.Kai wasn’t far from the wharf when the ship exploded. The blast threw Kai onto his back. Korrigan ran forward, with a hand on his defender sword.  Kai was unharmed, miraculously so, although stevedores who had been standing close by him were badly burned. Korrigan’s sword also told him that, somewhere on board, Rutger Smith was fighting for his life, and several crew members had lost theirs.The Impossible was listing, flames roaring throughout all decks. An enormous hole had been blown in the hull and, as the others ran forward to help, they saw the incongruous site of a stunned Kieran Sentacore sat in the midst of the flames and destruction, looking out of a charred mess where his berth had once been, magical quill in hand.  Only the fact that he had been writing had saved him from the explosion. An inferno now raged all around him, consuming every deck.When the initial chaos was over – when all those who could be rescued had been rescued, and the blaze had eventually been contained – Uriel clambered on board the fatally wounded, waterlogged ship to find out what had happened: The blast had come from barrels loaded on board by stevedores, some of whom had died in the blast.  There was very little evidence as to precisely who had committed this wicked deed.  Eleven people had died, seven more were badly injured, and the Impossible was damaged beyond repair.Later that day, Korrigan received a sending from Sovereign Han Jierre.  It said simply:“For Lya.”</blockquote>

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