General Summary
Scene: Repairing Little Cloud at the Air Manse
Stelsor shows us some sketches for new invention ideas
proposes a new device called the Messenger’s Eye: this is a sort of hoop that a sorcerer can send an Infallible Messenger through and it would display the senses for others to see.
Obsidian arrows for harming Ghosts more than people.
Fortifier considers how throw or launch nets to deal with hawkriders if we head toward Metagalapa.
Apparently Little Cloud has a lot of Starmetal and the Bureau of Destiny would almost certainly want to take it if they all knew about it.
Seline is the exception because she knows about it and is trying to help us keep the secret.
We built up a big die pool and rolled a whopping 18 successes on our first craft roll for the repair venture.
Now we got to figure out how we’ll make use of all those extra successes.
Dreamflower also added Strengthening Touch from the Solar mode of Wonder Crafting Initiation, which makes an already durable legendary item even harder to break.
Scene: Confederacy of Rivers District event with the Thorns refugees
Stelsor formally frees a number of slaves.
Dreamflower announces the distribution of free or cheap clean water for the district.
Sidebar: The dogma of Nexus prohibits armies, except for those raised by the army. 1000 troops is the limit.
This limits both the Soaring Crane Mercenaries attached to the caravan company and the River District Watch.
The Dawn Warriors that work for the Pardoe family of Ember.
The Black Arrows are generally the mercenaries employed by the council, but the council still typically stays under the 1000 troops limit because the councilors are cheapskates themselves and don’t want to keep an entire standing army on the books if they don’t need to.
The Black Arrows has formed a kind of sister company made of the troops they poached from (I think) Ember.
There’s a very well-dressed group standing in the back that arrived.
They’re wearing mostly white with turquoise and gold stripes.
We recognize these as being in Tang-Zen symbols.
Since several of Combative Mattresses’s daughters are from Thorns, this is likely them and their bodyguards.
Fortifier gives a PSA and provides posters/pamphlets to spread the word about the awful stuff in Black Sunshine and how the deathlords are ultimately behind it.
The robed figures don’t really mix with the crowd.
Our presentations over, we serve lunch and some people dance.
Stelsor tries to chat up a shapely visitor and it turns out to be Cadence of Endless Vistas, one of Mattresses’ adoptees.
Stelsor asks her about which Yozi she is attached to. It is She Who Lives In Her Name.
Scene: Back to our projects
Stelsor suggests using the shadowland to operate a bath house for the dead.
Fortifier thinks this could be a way to make Liveeasy more symbiotic with the living, as opposed to Miribadi running a Needful Things/Something Wicked This Way Comes antique shop.
Perhaps we heat the water by burning hell-money or prayer strips that we print. That way the dead get offerings and the living have the bath.
Possible venture obstacles: permits, printing,
We send an Infallible Messenger to Vingosh Silverclaws in Port Sund to get his status.
(We had previously asked him and Anja Silverclaws to talk to the Metagalapans and they had returned with Anja very injured. Vingosh is caring for her.)
Vingosh replies that the Metagalapans speak of an Ar-Duke, a warrior-poet with a setting sun on his brow. The Ar-Duke’s reported as said, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra. Tanagra when the walls fell." which Vingosh doesn’t understand.
We asked The Ashen Sage of Oblivion aka Filandro Deathknight about this since he is perhaps the oldest continuously-active Exalted we know. Filandro just knows the Ar-Duke might be the Metagalapan leader.
We work on building another printing press to have it delivered through the Shadowlands in Liveeasy to Stygia for Repatriator of Souls, to help him with his rebellion against the Empire of Prasad.
We discuss carving the whale bones we got from Plentimon’s Casino.
There’s a very haughty, tall, purple-haired woman with a Realm accent.
There seems to be a family resemblance to Temagen's wife.
The Lord Ember’s mother comes over to introduce us to this woman, Lady V’Neef Aspen.
Fortifier asks how she knew the deceased. Her family and Ember had business dealings. Ember imported wine from the Realm.
We discern that Aspen is looking for Da-Ni-Lo, aka the Platinum Lady.
This very much suggests Aspen was the connection in the Realm from back when Autocthon Lives was a front for ghosts and Abyssals connected to the Lover.
Fortifier drops the name Prelate Ambiguon, former head of Autochthon Lives, and she is suddenly very interested.
She had been hoping to reacquaint herself with Ambigwon.
Fortifier explains that he took over Ambiguon’s flock after the Prelate met an unfortunate end (was killed by the Tang-Zen).
Aspen implies she might be interested in attending one of the Autocthon Lives services, though she is likely more interested in renewing shady deals than she is in spirituality or constructive endeavors.
The Nexus lawyer arrives to read the will
Lady Kinegon and Lady Grimwolde arrive with Flora Gesatti and Noura Yasin. They apologize for being late.
On the subject of Shining Sails, it goes to Comet Pardoe, his son, when he reaches the age of 21.
Comet is 25 now, which indicates the will was written at least 5 years ago but probably more.
There are some assets left to Comet’s half-sister, who arrived late, though Comet gets the bulk of things.
Dreamflower figures out that Nurlissa, in a mask, is passing as the half-sister.
Dreamflower begins asking Nurlissa about this, but Nurlissa dodges the questions to keep her up her cover.
When the reading is over, we go back to 12 Carnelian Peaches and ask Nurlissa about what she is up to.
Nurlissa explains that Blaine’s daughter was killed in the Tang-Zen’s attempt to hit the Guild back for the death of Nepo Tirpitz, Combative Mattresses’ nephew.
The daughter owed money for her own tombstone, but, with the inheritance (though fraudulently obtained), the daughter could receive a proper burial.
Nurlissa feels she has limited powers aside from her masks (which have caused a lot of trouble). This is was a bit of good she felt she could do with them.
Nurlissa remembers she had an unread letter from Willow Specter.
She blushes as she reads it because Willow Specter has invited her to be his date to the upcoming opening of a new casino, the one the circle is providing security for.
Fortifier asks if Nurlissa had heard anything about V’Neef Aspen.
Nurlissa says Aspen has been seen visiting the Tang-Zen.
She said there was a V’Neef dock somewhere in Nighthammer that Aspen visited and wanted destroyed for being unfit to bear her family name.
Wind-blown Snow is a brother of Aspen's or something.
Nurlissa leaves and Fortifier discusses how we might want to send her to infiltrate the entourage of Lady Aspen. That or Stelsor could sneak in.
We also may want to investigate the V’Neef Dock.
Scene: Back aboard Little Cloud
We look in the crew cabins to try to get an idea of the history of the ship, particularly how it was destroyed.
There are some logs and books, but the papers have all worn away from age.
Investigating the attack on the ship as a crime, Dreamflower’s Meditations on Rivalry reveals that motive of the attack was a to prevent the dissemination of knowledge.
The victims were Kratofil the wise and Steel Vixen Aims Twice Strikes Once.
Stelsor’s Jade Leaves a Trail reveals that Kratofil the Wise, one of Stelsor’s past Solar incarnations, was keeping a second accounting ledger and this one, hidden in the ship’s helm, is intact.
This ledger details that Kratofil was using the ship for smuggling on the side; taking wealthy passengers to very dangerous, hard-to-reach places, such as Yu-Shan’s Black Ray Isle. It seems this may have how Kratofil acquired the information that got him killed.
Stelsor looks around for smuggling compartments or secret rooms and finds several places, some were richly-appointed for secret passengers.
Seline will likely know more about this since she was also a victim aboard the ship when it was attacked.
Uncovered Ambiguon's connection to Juche Prefecture on the Blessed Isle.
Comments