Veiled Machinations

General Summary

Introduction

Ivannia finally came into view. The gleam of its magnificent buildings greeted the explorers' eyes despite the many miles that still lay ahead of them. The party quickened their pace at the thrilling sight of the city floating above them. Finally, as the shadows lengthened and twilight crept upon them the group stopped to make camp for the night. Grazelle coached the group that night on what to expect for their arrival the following morning.

Grazelle explained that since Ivannia had such little contact with the rest of the Ninth World that the adventures only way to gain access was to pose as members of Mo's royal retinue. Mo was not entirely comfortable treating her friends as servants but she agreed they should all play their different roles in order to get everyone into the city. Cassandra who was finally feeling better had many questions as she didn't remember much from the past few weeks. After some conversation, the rest of the group agreed to act as members of the royal retinue of Morganna Estelle of Ivannia.

An Ivannian Welcome

The party awoke early the next morning and continued on their journey. After a few more hours travel they arrived underneath the city. Grazelle passed out gravity belts to the party and explained how to use them. Suddenly, little spurts of sand began to kick up that looked like someone or something unseen was approaching the group! Farren nocked an arrow at which point Dariyana suddenly appeared in front of the group. She had been wearing the invisibility cloak but quickly pulled it off to avoid getting shot. The glaive said nothing about her previous whereabouts, but seemed relieved to re-join the group and enter the city.

The group followed Grazelle's instructions and activated their gravity belts. The entire party ascended through the air and in a couple of minutes they stepped foot into Ivannia! A wave of mixed emotions swept through Mo as she viewed her childhood home once again. Not that long ago, she had wanted nothing to do with Ivannia or its people but now she was face to face with many feelings she had thought firmly buried. Nonetheless, Mo composed her expression and walked to greet the small group of people approaching.

Mo's Uncle Francois Estelle, councilor of Ivannia and head of the Estelle family was the first to greet the group. Just behind him were Mo's parents, and a few attending servants she remembered from childhood. Mo greeted her uncle politely but her voice was cool. Her parents appeared a bit trepidatious at seeing Mo again but they both seemed happy to have her back. Mo's uncle seemed not to notice any tension and warmly welcomed his niece and entourage into Ivannia. He explained that rooms had been laid out for the group, and encouraged them to take advantage of their facilities to clean up after the journey. He also told Mo that they would have a Day of Inheritance ceremony later that day. Mo swallowed but she thanked her uncle and assured him she would be ready for the ceremony. With that, the entire party followed a servant back to the rooms which had been laid out for them.

Ivannian Accommodations

As the group proceeded back to Mo's house they observed the wonders of the near mythical city. Houses and gardens and exquisite statues floated at all different levels. The people mostly hovered and all appeared to be dressed in rich and colorful fabrics. Everything was clean and well-cared for, the air was clear and lightly scented from the gardens. Without their gravity belts they would have had a very difficult time navigating as the road would suddenly stop with nothing beyond but a mile long fall to the ground. The same road would continue on a few hundred feet further and higher than where they had been.

Cassandra was busy sketching as they went along. Tidran was very glad of his gravity belt and he did his best to appear nonchalant about the beauty surrounding them. Farren's mind was spinning trying to comprehend the advanced numenera everywhere, and she expressed interest in looking into the city's library. Dariyana was more interested in the practical usage of the Ivannian's capabilities, and she asked about visiting an arms shop; Grazelle informed her those would be off limits to the group since they were part of the military installations of the city. Mo stubbornly walked as much as possible and only used her hover abilities when absolutely necessary. She couldn't help mentally comparing how well off and comfortable Ivannia was compared to all the other places she had traveled in the Ninth World.

They arrived at the Estelle house where every party member was given an enormous and lavishly decorated suite of rooms. A hot bath steamed in each one, and clothes in several styles were laid on on the beds which somehow exactly fit each person. Farren, Cassandra, and Dariyana all made their way to Mo's room after enjoying a hot bath. The women gave each other style suggestions and helped each other get ready for the formal ceremony that afternoon. Tidran didn't really see the point of changing his clothes, but did so when Cassandra insisted that this would be a highly formal event and that he could change back afterwards. To his surprise, the clothes were more comfortable than he had feared they might be. Dariyana liked the looks of her clothes, but she still wore some armor pieces underneath, just in case.

Day of Inheritance

Grazelle came and collected the party around noon for the Day of Inheritance ceremony. She led them to a large dining hall where a banquet had been laid out. All of Mo's extended family was present, and everyone was standing as the party entered. Mo went to her seat at the head of the table, and everyone else sat down when she did. Cassandra found a seat at the lower end of the table with a group of ladies-in-waiting. Morganna's uncle Francois stood and formally welcomed everyone. He then turned to Mo and congratulated her on reaching her Day of Inheritance. Once again, many different thoughts went through Mo's head, she remembered running away last time sick of being treated like a pampered pet. Today however, her new friends and companions were present, and she felt somewhat more in control. Morganna's uncle asked her to stand and raise her right hand which she did. He asked "Do you, Princess Morganna Anne Louise Estelle of Ivannia, swear sole fealty to Ivannia and vow to forever work for the protection and better of its peoples?" Mo replied "Yes, I do". Mo's uncle Francois then congratulated her and welcomed her officially as a full Ivannian citizen, and a member of its ruling class.

With the formalities over, everyone began eating the delicious feast that was prepared. When Mo declared her loyalty to Ivannia, her family seemed to relax a bit more and appeared relieved she had chosen to come back and join them once again. Cassandra was busy chatting with the ladies-in-waiting, who filled her in on all the latest house gossip. She sketched some of the people they described which delighted her new companions. As the meal went on, Grazelle mentioned that there would be a council meeting in the afternoon, and suggested that Mo might be interested in observing. Mo asked her friends, and while Tidran wanted to explore Ivannia a bit, the rest of the party agreed to accompany Mo to the council meeting.

The Council Meeting

Grazelle accompanied the group back to Mo's room after the meal was concluded. Once there, she gave them a quick primer on what to expect at the council meeting. She explained that King Jacques as well as the leader of each house would be present. Grazelle started listing the houses but Mo quickly cut in "Yes, I remember those, houses Estelle, Coustea, Pesant, Motier, Champlain, Thibodeau, Bonaparte, Bourbon, and Arouet". "Yes, I can see you paid attention growing up!" Grazelle replied. She continued on, explaining that King Jacques was of the house Thibodeau, and the houses Pesant and Arouet currently did not have someone on the council but nonetheless the heads of those houses would be present to represent their house interests. The other seven houses had a member on the council; these councilors also served as the leaders of their respective houses.

King Jacques called the meeting to order, and a scribe read the first order of business; some people had started a petition saying that as Ivannia's population continued to grow they were in danger of being overcrowded and wished the council to find a remedy. House Cousteau went first, his solution was to create a new underwater settlement in the nearby Sere Marica and thus relieve the population pressure. House Pesant went next, he observed that while overcrowding was an issue for some houses, other houses had large parcels of land reserved for gardens and natural reserves. He suggested that those houses with such extra room give some of it up to new settlement projects. House Motier then opined that Ivannia had been isolated for too long; they would like to allow Ivannians to leave the city and settle in other parts of the Ninth world if they so chose.

House Estelle was up next, but before he offered his solution, Morganna's Uncle Francois asked her opinion. He was of a mind to suggest building upwards as gravity was not an issue and there was at least a mile of breathable air above the city before they would run into any issues. Mo carefully considered both her uncles suggestion, as well as the that of the other councilors and while she agreed that allowing Ivannians to leave the city might be a good idea, building upwards was also a fairly easy solution to implement. Mo's uncle thanked her and then presented his view that instead of exploration or new settlements or opening their borders that they use the same strategy as before and continue to build upwards.

House Champlain went next and desired to form an exploratory party to search in the Beyond for a suitable location for a new settlement. House Thibodeau agreed with Morganna's Uncle that remaining within the city was a good idea, but suggested that instead of upwards they add more floating land outwards and expand the city perimeter. Thibodeau offered to fund such a project which produced some grumbling from a few councilors as their houses already had building loans from House Thibodeau. House Bonaparte suggested the time had come to begin rebuilding the Ivannian Empire, and he suggested they use their military to begin forcibly expanding Ivannia into the Ninth World. A few people reminded Bonaparte that the military was his solution to all problems. House Bourbon laughed at the idea of overcrowding and said that a well-managed house such as his own did not have any issues. He recommended that each councilor seek his advise after the meeting if they would like to learn from someone who knew how to manage a house. Finally, House Arouet suggested that since the houses did not control equal land size that the council re-district the houses so each house would be equal. His suggestion was met with cold looks from the other house leaders.

King Jacques then announced that the council would consider the different suggestions and hold a vote at a later time on a solution. The scribe then read the other orders of business which all seemed to be petitions for aid to the council. The Vandal Tribe which lived underneath Ivannia was having issues with a demon tree and desired aid from above. This tribe supplied intel to Ivannia about conditions on the ground, and in return Ivannia occasionally provided minor aid to the tribe. Next, the Ivannian defense had received reports of a Versicolor Truiskal in the area. While they believed the city's defenses could cope with such a beast, they suggested it would be much simpler to instead find a way to persuade the creature to leave the area rather than attempt to kill it outright.

The next order of business was a reminder that the Klax Merchants were due to appear at any time. House Bonaparte immediately spoke up and called them extra-dimensional invaders and asked that the military be tasked with eliminating them. House Thibodeau countered that they had a long history of peace with the Klax and that so long as one did not provoke them, they were quite a useful economic ally as they bought broken equipment and numenera for reasons known only to them.

Finally, the council meeting ended with two reports from the city infirmary. They had an outsider as a patient whom they suspected had been attacked by an Aliopter. The king looked grave at the mention of such a creature, and demanded an investigation to ensure the safety of the city. The second report from the infirmary brought chuckles from the councilors when the scribe read it. Apparently there was some overuse of Candescent Sabon which had resulted in hospitalization for a couple people. Even the king grinned a bit and commented on the paradox that seeking so much wisdom actually resulted in complete foolishness instead.

Tidran's Delectable Foray

Meanwhile Tidran had no interest in a stuffy council meeting. Instead, he roamed the streets ostensibly to sample the local cuisine but really hoping to talk with the people and inquire as to how their numenera functioned to make an entire city float. He started in the Pesant district and sampled several delicious dishes from some of the street vendors. He drew some attention as an outsider was a rare sight in Ivannia, and he used the opportunity to ask several people about how certain numenera functioned. He noticed that most people quickly had a glazed expression when he mentioned building or floating mechanics, and finally someone mentioned that House Thibodeau usually provided most of the workers and funding for expansion projects. Tidran decided to try visiting the Thibodeau district and made his way back through the Capital district. As he walked back through, he joined up with the rest of the group who were just getting out of their meeting.

The entire group decided to visit the Infirmary, located in the Thibodeau district, and follow up on the cases reported to the council. Tidran still wanted to eat and so Farren suggested they eat first and visit the infirmary second. The group found a pleasant establishment advertising a variety of succulent dishes. They all needed their gravity belts again since the table-tops were 8 feet above the ground and no chairs were present! Mo primly floated up and assumed a sitting position at the table to show her disdain for over-reliance on their gravity abilities. The adventurers ordered, and all but Mo were surprised when a hatch on the side of the table immediately opened up with their dishes ready. As they ate, Tidran again questioned the owner about how the gravity numenera worked, but this time the man referred him to the military districts for technical details.

An Infirmary Inquiry

After their meal, the group visited the infirmary nearby. They were greeted by the sight of many numenera devices of a seemingly medical nature and a couple of infirmary workers (doctors?). There appeared to be very few patients in the entire place. When they mentioned the Candescent Sabons to the attendant, he smiled and showed them to a bed where a young man sat holding his head. On the table beside him was a clear container in which floated and moved a small glowing creature of some type. The man could not remember much, and the attendant filled them in on the details.

Apparently, Candescent Sabons could be used to reveal answers to any questions, but in return they attached to the host and for each question posed the Candescent Sabon would in return ask a riddle of its host. The riddles grew in difficulty with each question, and failure to answer the creature's riddle would result in a mental assault of sorts in which the Candescent Sabon would devour its host's memories.

Cassandra was intrigued by the creature, and asked if she could have the it. The young man wanted nothing further to do with the creature and happily handed her the jar. She placed it in her backpack over the objections of Tidran, and immediately she felt the urge to open the container and touch the creature. The attendant told Cassandra that so long as she was in very close proximity, the Candescent Sabon would use its telepathic abilities to make her desire to touch the creature. It could not force any action upon her, but it would always place the impulse in her mind to touch it.

Next the group asked about the Aliopter victim, and were directed towards a bed with a sullen looking young man in it. He was not receptive to questions at first and glared at the group. Dariyana appeared a bit uneasy when she had a closer look although the man seemed not to notice. With a bit of coaxing, he grudgingly admitted to being attacked but was quick to add that he had defeated the creature and was now fine and wished to leave. The attendant explained that an Aliopter infection took about a week to show major symptoms, and that they needed to keep the young man under observation to ensure the city was not under threat of an Aliopter. Dariyana looked repulsed and she quickly stepped away from the bed.

The group made their way back to their luxurious suites in the Estelle house and discussed their very interesting day. As the sun wound down in the sky, its red light gleamed through the city, enhancing the beauty of its structures. The group chatted about a few plans for the next day, and Mo dispatched several letters.

Report Date

06 Jun 2020

Primary Location

Ivannia