Before the Coup
With Potha and Arzet hunkered down in the Red Palace crypts, Kipilu and Makar set to work doing cat-based reconnaissance and war planning.
First, Makar travelled to the hideout of Bexi the Gourmand to meet with the local Scourge cat invasion force. These cats, trained in the Way of the Open Palm and other forms of paw-to-fang violence, were eager to launch an assault on the nefarious Goosefeather Court cats. Makar also urged Bexi to hunker down with his research; Bexi gave Makar a special knock and passcode to enter. For Makar's notice ahead of time of the oncoming chaos, Bexi gave Makar sanitizing high-proof alcohol and a makeshift hazmat suit - and offered to send the God's Selkie tailor contact Samail Yepahep details to make a more effective model.
While Makar sent the Scourge out, Kipilu moved the Goosefeathers to mobilize. The Goosefeathers, far more reserved than the Scourge, began entrenching in the elite district. The two cat forces clashed, both sides suffering heavy casualties. Kipilu dashed into the field, rescuing a lone unsocialized housecat who wandered in the fray. The district was in chaos. It was easy for Kipilu and Makar to slip into the palace in cat form - Makar assuming the identity of a fallen Goosefeather.
Thanks to the Goosefeather's dark magic, entrenched position, and support from the Prince's mages, the Scourge cats were defeated. But the Goosefeathers took heavy casualties, particularly of their lower-level members: only a handful of exhausted elites remained. The Goosefeather cat's surveillance and security role for the Prince was effectively neutralized, at least for the night. This meant that Makar and Kipilu had free reign of the palace in cat form. They watched the Prince's wartable meeting - and noted the presence of an ethereal shapeshifter with blue eyes. The shapeshifter advised the Prince that this cat battle was likely the God's doing, and that they should be on alert. Thankfully, the Prince seemed confident that the Gods were intimidated by his power and would spend more time preparing. The Prince's forces reported that they had noticed the Usurper, and the shapeshifter said she had "built rapport" with the Usurper and would go to undermine whatever plan the Gods had made.
Kipilu used his cat splintering abilities to send himself over to the Nozari estate (where the rebels were gathering) while he remained partially in the Palace (ready to strike). Kipilu checked on Malwa, the Usurper's daughter, and talked briefly with her about her father's return. The Usurper, Kelka, had apparently been afraid of her as a shapeshifter or imposter. Kelka had acted erratically in the hour since he was broken from prison, and the rebels were worried about his ability to rally the people as a distraction. Kipilu went to see Kelka directly and found a man who was broken and confused. Kelka claimed to have been regularly visited by his partner/best friend Idala and daughter Malwa in prison, and his family had supposedly helped him survive the terrible tortures of the Prince. The Malwa he saw here was too sad, too angry, and too unlike his childhood image of his daughter to be recognized - and clearly the idea of a shapeshifting imposter to his family had been seeded in prison.
Kipilu and the telepathic God Chat agreed that the Shapeshifter - like Eada - had been visiting Kelka and using his time in prison to capture his love, hopes, and motivating relationships. Kelka had an entire false series of events after his imprisonment in his head, a happier version of his family where his plan to have his friend/partner turn him in to spare them had worked perfectly. He thought Malwa and Idala remained close and had used their new position to quietly reform the government from within - he thought his job was done, and that he could die happily having protected his family (and even his city). He clung to this fantasy, but Kipilu slowly chipped away at it. Kipilu told Kelka to avoid and ignore any version of Malwa or Idala, real or fake, and used his bardic charm to inspire Kelka to give this whole rebellion thing a second chance.
With Kelka inspired, the warriors gathering, and the Gods in position, the time was right to launch their assault. Kipilu gave a final warning to Malwa and the rebels to limit direct engagements with the Prince himself until the Gods had killed the Plague Engine, as the Prince would likely be empowered by its dark magic. The only thing left to do was to act.
Components
Goals
QUEST:
- Kill or stop Prince Mazaru Eramzir
- Destroy the nascent Zeruan Plague Engine, to prevent a new Rot Plague Variant
- Scout out the powers and weaknesses of the Nemeses
- Make connections and allies
- Marshal resources
Relations
Protagonists
Makar Mesaba: The Masked One reborn, from Etekamo. Divine Soul Sorcerer, Courtier Background
Potha Sarana: Halcyon reborn, from the Sarana Tribe of Loanua. Beastmaster Ranger, Outlander Background
Kipilu of Tezitkal: The Hidden One reborn, from Tezitkal. Glamour Bard, Acolyte Background.
Arzet Devadov: The Chimera reborn, from the village of Adov in the Deverkel Wastes. Conjuration Wizard, Sage Background.
Allies
Malwa Akuzir: A dashing and hotheaded young woman, daughter of the Usurper orphaned by the failed coup. Grief-filled and quick to lash out, particularly against Idala Lorazir, who she feels betrayed her family. Quick to draw her rapier and unafraid of death, Malwa is mostly just hoping to get some vengeance before she inevitably dies or is imprisoned.
The Usurper, Lord Kelka Akuzir: A traumatized and disoriented man, mentally and physically harmed by his time in Prince Mazaru Eramzir's prison. Once, he had been the one local lord astute and brave enough to challenge the Prince and attempt to overthrow him. Now, he is timid and clings to a romanticized version of his past life and family. Ensared by the deceptions of a shapeshifter.
Lady Minwa Nozari: A mild-mannered reformer with a taste for art, who dislikes the Prince but doesn't really want to do much about it. Lady Nozari is a bit snooty and very classist, but is very open-minded about new ideas and foreign cultures. She is a major patron of the Far Harbor Club and a powerful noble in the city. A clever operator with plans to politically challenge the prince through petitions and committees, but perhaps overly restrained and cautious.
Lady Ovwa Benibiski: A bookish industrialist who likes to make things efficient, but generally has little big-picture political vision. A powerful noble, but one who meekly follows the prince (and makes good money for it). Conflict-avoidant and unassuming, Ovwa's main political concern is just keeping her large and bickering family unified.
Lord Mayor Wellim Bakari: A nasty, cynical, cowardly man who has realized that the city is doomed and is looking for a nice golden parachute away. Mayor of the city, mocked by the other nobles and all too happy to get his own last laugh at their expense. A shit-stirrer.
Bexi the Gourmand: A rude, paranoid, xenophobic, and weird alchemist and gourmand.
Wrath: Wrathful Claws Punishing Arrogance is a commander of a group of Scourge cats.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Idala Lorazir: The best friend of the Usurper and closest companion, de-facto mother of Malwa who is now marked for death by her former informal stepdaughter. Idala is cool, collected, and focused on just surviving and manuevering. It is assumed by many that she betrayed the Usurper, as she not only survived the coup but was granted many of the Usurper's former properties.
Competitors
Eada: A shapeshifter, former ally turned against the party
Adversaries
Prince Mazaru Eramzir: An old and bitter prince, trying to balance the Nemeses
Hossu Brave Eyes: A former paladin of Wimbo, God of Heroes, now turned Doom Paladin. Friendly, boisterous, nihilistic, enjoys killing.
Olympia: A Jellicle Cat Leader who has embraced Kasmir, the Rot as 'the Song of Silence'. Head of the Goosefeather Court, spy servant of the Prince.
Parent Plot
Subplots
Related Characters
Related Locations
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