Alliances New and Old

General Summary

Introduction

The next morning, the adventures arose and discussed their new situation. Cassandra wasn't thrilled about being a lady in waiting, but she agreed she would play the part in front of others. As the group was chatting, Grazelle knocked and then entered. In her hands was a pile of letters which she handed to Morganna. After greeting the group, Grazelle chided Cassandra for not fetching her lady's mail. Cassandra was a bit surprised and realized that perhaps there was more to being a lady in waiting than she had initially surmises.

Grazelle also handed Morganna several books on Ivannian history, and mentioned that these books were the true and unedited history, both bad and good of Ivannia. She told Morganna that the letters were most likely invitations from the other houses, and that these invitations were part of Ivannian politics. Grazelle explained to the group that their actions carried more weight than they realized. Tidran's culinary choices from the previous day for example were now near the top of most of the menus in House Pesant. These dishes were advertised as "Classic Ivannian Cuisine, and irresistible to outsiders!" Finally, Grazelle told the group that Morganna's Uncle Francois was having a light breakfast with House Thibodeau and had invited them to join.

Morganna read through the letters, which were indeed all invitations of one sort or another. The sole exception was from House Arouet which asked for money instead. The party briefly discussed the letters and decided upon an agenda for the day. First, they would have breakfast with Morganna's Uncle Francois. Then, they would visit the infirmary and try to get some more information on the strange outsider. After that, they would visit a military parade at House Bonaparte and then go to dinner with the Houses Cousteau and Champlain.

Breakfast with Friends

Morganna, trailed by Cassandra and Tidran, found her Uncle Francois in the banquet hall exchanging pleasantries with the head of House Thibodeau. Her uncle greeted her warmly and waved the party to sit down. Over breakfast, her Uncle Francois and Thibodeau discussed the upcoming council vote on Ivannian over-crowding. They were agreed to build taller buildings, and desired to have several other councilors vote with them. To that end, their proposal was to form an exploratory committee to examine moving beyond their city, since at least half the other houses had mentioned wanting to move beyond Ivannia's borders. Morganna agreed with her uncle's plan and said she would mention it to the other houses she visited that day.

Infirmary Investigation

After breakfast, the group went back to the infirmary and tried to press the outsider, Hugh, for more information. Tidran had noticed Hugh's tattoo the day before and something about its design made him uneasy. He had consulted Jayvin's journal, and found the tattoo was common among the Yellow Serpents. Tidran shared this information with the group, and they were worried as the Yellow Serpents had so far not been spotted this far south.

At first, Hugh was insolent and sarcastic. He boasted how his friends would soon rule Ivannia, and that the adventures would be sorry they had locked him up. Tidran was able to successfully intimidate Hugh into revealing the truth. Hugh had been part of a small scouting party sent to explore the southern shore with the aim of expanding across the sea. The scouting party had been attacked by what Hugh called a "demon", which was the last thing he remembered. The infirmary attendant broke in and explained that Ivannia's scanners had picked up a possible Aliopter and the city had sent a security detail to investigate. The security group found Hugh unconscious and brought him back to the infirmary as per city policy with any suspected Aliopter attack.

Both Tidran and Morganna pressed Hugh for more information on the current whereabouts of the Yellow Serpent scouting party. Hugh was unsure and although he blustered a great deal, he could not tell them the answer. Meanwhile, Cassandra was increasingly distracted. She had dreamed that night about floating glowing creatures, and all morning she had the nagging desire to touch the Candescent Sabon in her backpack. Finally, the impulse was too strong to ignore, and when Tidran wasn't paying attention, she unscrewed the lid and touched the glowing creature within. Immediately, she felt a sensation of relief, and the presence of another mind inside her own. The creature was quite happy to be out of the jar, and enjoyed being able to feel human sensations again.

Cassandra asked her new companion where the Yellow Serpent scouting party currently was. Instead of a direct answer, the creature asked a riddle first "Given any seventeen integers, is there at least one subset of nine integers whose sum is divisible by 9? What are they?” Cassandra's mind raced; she had seen what happened to someone who had failed to solve a Candescent Sabon's riddle, but she wasn't great with math. After a minute of quick calculations, she had the answer "The numbers 2-10" she replied in her mind. To her relief, this was indeed the correct answer, and the creature answered her question. The scouting party was several dozen miles offshore and seemed to be in the process of scouting the coastline, just as Hugh had said.

Alarmed by how close the Yellow Serpents had drawn, the group then asked the attendant if he could yet detect the Aliopter infection. The attendant could not, but suggested that perhaps the Ivannia Library might yield some clues. Tidran agreed to do some research, and he set off for an afternoon of reading. Morganna and Cassandra set off to see the military parade at House Bonaparte.

A Military Parade

House Bonaparte was a grand and impressive building decorated with a great many weapons displays and statues of Ivannian military heroes. The head of the house greeted Morganna and led her and Cassandra to where the parade was beginning. What a grand parade it was! The Bonaparte troops marched in perfect unison, and they displayed a wide assortment of potent numenera weaponry. Their trumpets and drums played a bold march which made everyone listening unconsciously stand up a bit straighter. The parade finished in front of the grand staircase to House Bonaparte. A stone statue of a barbarian fighter was brought out, and a soldier stepped forward. He waved his hand, and the statue hovered up in the air. He then brought his hands together, and the statue crumpled inwards into a very small ball. With a final, dramatic gesture the statue then hurtled out of Ivannia where it fell for a very long time to the ground beneath. "Thus to the enemies of Ivannia! Long live Ivannia! Long live House Bonaparte" The entire crowd cheered.

Bonaparte had some questions for Morganna and her group. He asked for her support on the council vote to begin a conquest and re-start the Ivannian empire. Morganna was stirred by the patriotic parade, and she managed to agree with Bonaparte without tying herself into supporting his council vote. He was interested in fighting without gravity weapons, and questioned the group about their fighting experiences. He explained he was trying to ready for a potential Aliopter attack. Aliopters could ignore the city's powerful gravity weaponry, and he wanted to be ready for any eventuality. He invited the group to a sparring session sometime where no gravity weapons would be allowed. This would give him a chance to study and devise tactics for such an encounter.

Dinner and an Agreement

Next, Morganna and Cassandra attended the dinner at house Cousteau. House Champlain was also present. Both were very friendly and there was a delicious dinner laid out in their lavish banquet hall. Over dinner, both questioned Morganna. Cousteau was curious about an underwater colony. Morganna opined that such a colony would be very hazardous as many creatures swam beneath the sea that were as yet unknown. Next, Champlain asked about the Beyond and the possibility of setting up a settlement there. Morganna thought this might be easier than underwater.

Finally, she presented an offer for the council vote. Estelle would support an exploratory committee if they would support building taller buildings now to address the overcrowding issue. Both House Cousteau and House Champlain agreed to her proposal. Elated she had been able to get support for her houses position, Morganna thanked both Cousteau and Champlain. After enjoying the delicious dinner, Morganna and Cassandra left and rejoined with Tidran.

Promising Research

Tidran had spent the afternoon reading old stories. He had found one mention of an Aliopter which mentioned a possible way to detect an infection early on. He met up with Morganna and Cassandra, and the group went back to the infirmary. He presented his findings to the attendant. The infirmary attendant was excited, and was able to quickly produce a test. The test confirmed that Hugh was indeed infected with Aliopter larvae, and that he had about 4 days until they would burst from his tongue. The attendant made a report to the council, and the adventures headed back to their rooms, discussing the days events as they went.

Report Date

13 Jun 2020