General Summary
Scene: Restaurant Five + Two
Invited guests (incomplete list):
Tamed Rapids might even show up since this is a historic event and involves his former purview.
Flora Gesatti and Noura Yasin live in the building so they are coming.
Roses of Thorns (abolitionists) Leader: Wanda "Olive" Oyl
Sigurvin and Ling-Li-Li are the maitre’ds
Stelsor is buzzing around the kitchen, cooking and coordinating the other chefs
About 20 Black Arrows visit
Stelsor welcomes them and offers them drinks.
A few start recognizing the criminal elements present, but their squad leader holds them back from arresting people.
Stelsor mentions Essence of Spice Trade, Architect of Nexus is handling security for the event. At that, they back off and leave.
When Prital arrives, a contingent of guards in Gunzosha armor are with her.
They station themselves 3 to a corner.
The first time we saw, them they were protecting Selene. This time they’re protecting Prital.
Wadeen is around. Says hi to Stelsor and then goes off possibly to chase Willow Specter.
Narel Pritaire (one of Venatori "Combative Mattresses" Grimaldi fosterlings) arrives, twirling a parasol indoors.
She has two tough looking escorts. One might be human but has glowing lights on his skin.
Shagalauth is here, perhaps the only undead present, and with a few mortals in tow.
Navarone Zahre arrives also with two Exalted bodyguards.
No one from the Guild has entered yet, which is odd.
A group arrive in Dawn Sentinel livery
Mercenary Lord Blaine Pardoe of Ember's wife Esteria Pardoe
Fortifier speaks to Sigurvin about the seating arrangements.
The only main enclave is the Tang-Zen Crime Syndicate
There is a VIP section for lords and gods.
The Guild has a central group of tables for their many representatives, but none have arrive yet.
The few people invited by the Coin were recommended to not be seated together.
So far, Shagalauth is the only prominent one we’ve seen so far though.
Fortifier is getting suspicious that maybe the Guild members aren’t just late. Maybe they're planning an attack with so many VIPs present.
We hear what sounds like an elephant’s trumpeting
Fortifier goes outside to see what this is.
There’s an unusual amount of smog/soot in the air, but the Air Manse is unassailed (the hearthstone would tell Fortifier if someone was tampering with the manse.)
With another elephant trumpet, the smog departs suddenly as someone has summoned an air elemental.
We can now see the impressive parade of 500 Guild representatives in their palanquins and the like.
The sorcerer who summoned the elemental is one of the attendants of one of the chairs.
A very large raiton is headed this way with a smaller golden bird behind. They land and transform into Tidetamer and Golden Chrysantemum.
Essence of Spice Trade arrives in 3 simhata-drawn carriages with most of the people from the peace talks.
Agent Prital Tarawi arrives with "Solid" Eressanada Purrio and Shun-the-enemies-of-Autochton.
Something happens and the Tang-Zen’s representatives (Venatori "Combative Mattresses" Grimaldi 8 daughters) have all moved into the center of their area and the bodyguards have circled around them and some have anima that is flaring.
With 2 bodyguards with every daughter, 16 exalted
Dreamflower recognizes that they seem to be activating defensive powers.
It’s not immediately obvious what they reacted to, but Dreamflower notices Temagen has brandishing a blade at one of the more ostentatious Guild pimps.
It seems like the pimp commented on Temagen's wife while he was standing right beside her.
Signing event
On behalf of the Tang-Zen, they call forward Venatori "Combative Mattresses" Grimaldi Mattresses.
As he walks up, Dreamflower observes some glinting of Essence on him.
For the Coin, Anacreon Thousand Brushstrokes is called, but the Abyssal isn’t present, having already signed earlier because he's promised us he won't reenter Nexus.
For the Guild, Director Fruza, Guild Import Director of Nexus is called up.
There are 9 directors but this is a different person than the 3 Guild directors we dealt with on the ship.
This guy came from a row behind Norma Jean, Blue Eyes, and Byorn
Has an artifact that looks a bit like a mace with feathers on them.
We try to Read Intentions and don’t notice anything off.
After he signs, Frouza gets a mischievous glint and calls upon his fellow directors to sign as well.
Norma Jean, Blue Eyes and Byorn join.
As sacred guarantor and witness, Essence of Spice Trade, Architect of Nexus signs.
Due to the unusual nature, they call upon Marpola Brancino to sign as well.
With this handled, the feasting begins. Guests are permitted to select fish from the giant aquarium.
Legs churning under a still pond, the duck god, is also here with Ohanlei, Goddess of Tea herself.
Fortifier speaks to Temagen
Apparently the pimp earlier had commented that he had a job for Apollonia Sophia Mana-V'neef-Grimaldi, his wife, right in front of him.
Fortifier asks about how Temagen and Combative Mattresses are able to be present within the city at the same time.
Apparently, the restriction had been part of a powerful protective working, but it was no longer feasible considering the new tribunal system that the agreement is initiating.
Temagen wants to make sure we’ve met all of his sisters-in-law.
We had met most of them already, but two were new to us.
Nightsweat-borne concerns, Solar, wanna-be opera singer
Caracol is also an Infernal and says little.
The daughters of CM look like they’re waiting and when we try to notice what they’re watching for, Dreamflower and Fortifier detect a line of burning white Essence along one wall of the restaurant.
The essence becomes a portal which starts to open and the scents of Vitriol and other elements of Malfeas waft in.
Dreamflower uses a Charm to resist the shifting.
Fortifier tells Temagen that opening strange portals without warning your hosts is rather impolite.
Out of the portal comes a small, Lookshyan-dressed woman who ushers the daughters through.
This is apparently how these daughters get around Creation: by traveling though Malfeas.
It allows them to cross any distance in Creation, but it always takes 5 days.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, if the Guild or some other group wanted to attack them in transit, they’d have to brave Malfeas themselves.
The gods seemed to notice the portal, but seem not to have been worried.
We’re called over to the VIP tables.
The Lookshyan ambassador wanted to introduce us to the ambassador from the Empire of Prasad: Ambassador Burano Namika Jahan, Envoy of Prasad.
He mentions traveling by cloud skiff, so Fortifier asks if he is a sorcerer himself.
The ambassador references some big event in The Dreaming Sea and we ask for more info.
Prasad recently regained a protectorate that had broken from their empire.
These are detailed in some of the letters that Yurumi Maldi had been sending to Stelsor.
Yurumi has been raising funds for a rebellion against this fellow.
Yurumi has been trying to stay on the opposite side of the room from the Prasadi ambassador, perhaps to avoid ripping his throat out.
Before Combative Mattresses left, he bestowed the deed to Little Cloud to us. Hurray!
Stelsor speaks to Comet Pardoe, son of Mercenary Lord Blaine Pardoe of Ember and mentions the sad tale of what happened to his father.
Comet and his mother hadn’t heard Stelsor’s piece of the story. Stelsor had been using sorcery to remotely communicate with Blaine at the time Blaine was murdered.
Stelsor describes the murder weapon to them and that he suspects the killers were associated with The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears.
Stelsor discusses the purchase of the Shining Sails. The family is unwilling to outright sell the ship to us, but glad to entrust or license it to us.
Their mercenary forces lost 3 quarters of their number between a battle and many being pressed into serving as Black Arrows.
Stelsor shares the letter he got from Vingosh Silverclaws about attacks by the Metagalapans.
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