Session 9

Train ride south. Simone and Locke share a compartment, with an adjoining compartment for Locke's books and thoughtform.
 
The conductor is a woman named Aidasse. She has two assistants, Boris the Engineer (more metal than flesh), and there is a thoughtform attendant in every car. They all have stupid little uniforms with pillbox hats.
 
There are some people of note: a weaver named Elias Strohn, who keeps to himself but will play the Spider's game; a woman named Lacia the Eye who has nice eye tattoos all over, has bandages over her real eyes and may be a prophet; Chorian Marsh, a man who travels with a cat-sized frog; Duchess Maroline, a zombie.
 
Locke goes to observe Lacia the Eye, who is always in the garden car. As I watch, I see that she is really doing divination magic which is augmented by her natural abilities. I sit for a while, observing her. I talk to her after a while, and we make arrangements for me to observe her while she's doing her work, the next day when the train stops at a station.
 
One of the nameless passengers on the train is wearing the same kind of outfit as Goodman Yonas. In the morning, Simone and Locke go to talk to the yokel. He is incredibly friendly. He says he's never been to Yestervale before, but he's going there to tell his sister that their mother died. Literally all he knows about the town is that its main business is redivivous ice, the leader of the town is Mayor Tambly, and the town has only about 14,000 people.
 
That morning, the train stops at a city called Carmanth (~15,000 people), which is one of the major stops on the trip. I observe Lacia and make copious notes about what she's doing.
 
That night, a wandering ghost wakes me up. I get Fynlan and we talk to her. The ghost remembers her name, Tilda. She does not remember who murdered her, except that it was a woman. I divine that she was killed by Ryley Byrne. We agree to tell the authorities.
 
On the way out of Fynlan's room, I run into Chorian. We talk for a bit, I found out that he is SUPER into books, and has a huge library in his magical FROG, whose name is Unger. Inside the frog, time moves differently. While in there, I finish learning my Appurtenance.
 
Maroline comes to us in utter panic, because she is convinced that the Church of Midnight people on the train are going to kill her. We infiltrate them-- Simone and I seduce one of them-- and learn what's going on. They have a ritual they're going to do, where they choose lots, and one of them commits suicide by throwing themselves in front of the train. This ritual requires a silver vase, which Gwyn steals.
 
Gwyn mocks these guys, drinking booze out of the vase when they find him. They try to start a fight with him, but I intimidate them by talking in depth about their stupid ritual. My intimidation brings flux, I use my appurtenance to change the flux effect to one which turns out all of the lights and causes the alcohol in Gwyn's vase to burst into spooky flames, scaring the idiots. They give off on their stupid plans.
 
We make it to Yestervale. The yokel wanders off to meet his sister. It's a dusty, dry town in a gulch. We get accommodations at Mistmaids, a local inn.
 
Fynlan summons an unfixed jackal. It is super cool. He sends it out to scout around.
 
We search out Goodman Yonas, and find him at a restaurant called the Red Thistle. He doesn't recognize us. I noticed there was a spell on him and cancelled it.... he suddenly did remember us, and we decided to go to the mayor.
 
Fynlan's unfixed jackal has noticed there is strange magic stuff happening all over the place.
 
Mayor Tambly is a tall woman with a dog who has a single giant eye as its head. She tells us that there is a species of giant centipede called the Insidious in the town, which can create compulsions/memory loss inside your brain, which also causes them to reproduce. They have been making everyone in town sell their Recidivous Ice to someone named Baylock, who comes to town every few months.
 
Pyrha remembers some lore about this, which is great. He figures out that we need to find the first five people affected, and clear the effect on them.
 
Important people in town:
Mayor Tambly: mayor
Goodperson Bristol: town scholar
Goodwoman Faraday: wealthiest woman in town
Goodman Grodan: Goodwoman Faraday's husband, a blacksmith and metal worker and rich guy
Goodwoman Nora: tailor
Goodperson Shay: partner of Goodperson Nora
Goodman Abel: Kid we met on the train
 
Locke divines to find out who to cancel the effect on: 1) The mayor. 2) Goodman Grodan. 3) Goodperson Shay. These are affected by the group of Insidious called "The Royal Brood".
 
+1 acumen for Gwyn catching the thief on the train. +1 mage coin for keeping the duchess safe. +1 acumen for resolving Church of Midnight.