2025-03-14 Aspidian's Shocking End
General Summary
New player character: Peleps Danic Rarida
Dragon-blooded with a flying ship.
There’s a festival later today so the gods want to complete business quickly.
Stelsor brought a Coin of Distant Vision from Repatriator of Souls so he can observe remotely.
Stelsor uses Naked Soul Insight on Burano Joh Aspidian.
Her deepest desire is to become the rani-satrap.
However, the current rani-satrap is from Clan Burano and so tradition dictates her successor, the tanist, must be elected from Clan Ophris.
The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears promised to help her become rani-satrap.
We work together to read intentions of Aspidian.
We figure out that she wants to get directions from her sponsor, someone in the court.
Stelsor’s Jade Leaves a Trail to ask who Burano Joh Apsidian is indebted to.
Laughing Ring Izu the stormbird is her handler, her go-between for the Lover’s organization.
We determine that the Rani-Satrap would kill to know this information.
While we have the ear of the court, Stelsor (with help) makes a speech targeting Burano Joh Aspidian and condemning her for her part in the coup of Y’danna.
This is a social action to instill a minor Intimacy of “Y’danna (guilt)” on Aspidian.
Aspidian’s face shows a reaction and she storms out.
Rohen discusses trade with Ophris Maharan Nimari.
Clan Ophris has more southerly concerns, which tends to include Y’danna.
Rohen uncovers a prominent demand for seafood in Kamthahar.
Y’danna is on The Dreaming Sea, so seafood is easy enough for them to obtain.
Shipping it to Kamthahar might require Winterbreath Jars. It is winter at the moment, so maybe it’ll be fine.
Nimari would like a shipment by next month.
Jade-Tongue overhears the dealing and relishes it.
Court Session is adjourned and single lightning bolt reaches from some high-cloud strikes and Laughing Rain Izu and Prikata Fang-Fall disappear.
Scene: Rarida flying in his ship
Rarida flies past Metagalapa.
Rarida arrives in Kamthahar and goes to a tavern
Scene: Tailing Burano Joh Asidian
We follow her to try to obtain some evidence of her conspiring against the rani-satrap.
She moves into an area barred to non-Burano.
Fortifier strikes up conversation with the wait staff to discuss their culture and how they view the gods vs. the Dragon-Blooded.
The servants are pleased to be noticed.
They tell Fortifier about the hierarchies of Prasad.
Meanwhile, Dreamflower (using Shroud of Night’s Law) and Stelsor (using Nadir stealth) to follow Aspidian.
They reach a guarded door, the servants explain they were all ordered out of the room.
From the outside hear a peal of thunder.
With Vacant Station Scheme, Dreamflower fabricates a reason they need to enter.
When they enter, they find the rani-satrap there, crackling with power, and Aspidian motionless on the floor.
The rani-satrap [Burano Maharan Rohavin] is standing near the body, quite composed and calm.
She is doubtful that the people who just burst in (Stelsor, Dreamflower, Rohen, Malka) are indeed from Prasad.
The festival mentioned earlier happens to be in honor of the rani-satrap’s birthday.
Aspidian is apparently the grand-daughter of Rohavin.
Stelsor explains they were trying to uncover that Aspidian was plotting with the Lover against Rohavin.
We tell her about how Laughing-Rain Izu was Asidian’s handler.
Rohavin seems dubious about the connection to the Lover, after all, Laughing-Rain Izu has fought for Prasad many times.
Stelsor suggests we interrogate the corpse to corroborate our claims.
Sends an Infallible Messenger to Seline to get help with this.
Rohan advised her of the preliminary trade deal with Ophris Maharan Mimari.
Stelsor mentioned the printing presses and Rohavin seemed quite interested.
Seline arrives, glowing with the sign of Jupiter.
Seline calls for the holding of hands to use Unity of Dreams to view the last 10 years of Burano Joh Aspidian.
Scene: Within the memories
They replay the memories back roughly 1 year ago, shortly before the conquest of Y’danna.
We see Aspidian and Rohavin arguing.
Aspidian goes on a date with Subtle Wood.
Subtle Wood uses the power of the Lover to put Aspidian under her control.
At the Whistling Pig Inn and Tavern, Peleps Danic Rarida is the background making merry.
There is a magical darkness and a magical silence. Five operatives meet their eyes red, their voices the grating of ice on steel, disguised voices.
They call each other by codenames.
Subtle Wood is “Lucky lover”.
Aspidian’s is “Brave Seal”.
There are 3 more: Thunder Hammer, Sweet Treat, Antique Delicacy.
Thunder Hammer seems the oldest. Antique Delicacy arrived last.
They discuss the plan to conquer Y’danna.
Brave Seal will go in first, followed by sorcerous engineers from the legions of Prasad.
Lucky Lover asks why they are doing this, won’t it cause terrible loss of life.
Thunder Hammer laughs at this. “Only a few will lose their lives and only if they resist." They hope to convert rather than exterminate. "The Lady will be served. Those who stand against her will perish.”
Brave Seal enters the great palace of Y’danna.
No guards stop her as she walks.
She walks directly into The Office of the ruler and orders surrender.
The Mortal ruler refuses and moves to attack, but is defeated by an exalted bolt.
She then goes to the throne room but is too late to capture the princess of Y’danna.
She writes a letter to “her lady” informing her of the conquest and that the princess they hoped to take hostage has likely fled to the Underworld.
When she finishes writing it, she hesitates to send the letter.
Speaking later with Unlucky Lover, Brave Seal is skeptical that she needs to send the letter. If the Lady is so powerful, doesn’t she have her own ways of knowing.
Brave Seal meets with Thunder Hammer.
A few days later, they receive a puzzling message from Deathrose Pot-pourri to deliver goods to Y’danna. Hundreds of beasts of burden leave carrying trade goods.
In the coming days, rumors circulate that the interim ruler of Y’danna is interested in pledging fealty to Prasad.
Brave Seal sees the Abyssals when they first visit.
Then we meet up with the events we witnessed.
Scene: Continuing with Rohavin
Dreamflower suggests they investigate further at the Whistling Pig.
Stelsor first asks we receive some payment for all this.
Rohavin agrees and releases 1 silver talent.
Scene: Whistling Pig Inn & Tavern
It is late evening and Rarida has booked a room just upstairs from the taproom.
Rarida hears some hubbub as a group with foreign accents arrives and begins clearing a space in the taproom to perform a spell.
Dreamflower casts Shadows of the Forgotten Past to conjure a replay of the secret meetings that happened here. Perhaps there are more clues than what Brave Seal saw.
Though their magical disguises don’t slip, we do notice that Antique Delicacy and Sweet Treat don’t seem to touch the ground when they move.
We reason that this likely means they are Ghosts of some variety.
Rohen locates a scary-looking book where the conspirators met.
Rarida spots this also, what with his eye for smuggling.
They make eye-contact and Rarida tips his hat.
Rohen determines the book seems to be mundane and opens it.
The book is written in a very exotic language (Gradafes), so Rohen uses Strange Tongue Understanding.
It seems to be 500 pages of a list of random words. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, almost no adverbs.
Repatriator of Souls remotely informs Stelsor that the image on the front of the book is the Fortress of Crimson Ice
The stronghold of The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears located in the Underworld kingdom of Gradafes.
Fortifier charges up the logic circuits of his Alchemical brain to attempt frequency analysis on the book’s seemingly random words.
There is a missing to this puzzle: if we had a sample of encoded text that we already knew the meaning of, we might be able to decode the book.
Aha! We recall that the Brave Seal had a letter that she wrote to the Lover but never sent!
Comments