Session 1: Papers, Please

Part I: the Frankonian Connection

General Summary

30 Chilling-4 Dusk, 3701 AM

Aboard the Advent Horizon, a Merandure-operated vessel, four adventurers are headed for Ponvarus from Nova Aera. Though initially unwilling to let them on board, the captain Gérard Grandis relents when hearing that one of them is seeking political asylum in Frankonia. Our political refugee is Lucky Six, a warforged Kang deserter of the Western Jun Banner, which was destroyed by the White Sentinel Grand Company during the slaughter of Karakhasa four years prior. Joining him is Pewter Pohw'Bo'M Pangloss II, or Pewt, an astral elven low noble from Dagetov, but mostly defined by his being a monk of the Gardagrad Star Silk Sect; Avian, a Ponvarian member of the Lucinatus lineage, one of the Republic's defunct noble houses, who may be trying to avoid a debt to the Ostenmanc dynasty that was transferred to him when his father went out fox-hunting and mysteriously never returned; and Kjell Dvärgquist, who is divorced. (And also a dwarven preacher of Cayden Cailean.) This collection of individuals is shown around the ship by Jeremy, one of the Flaming Sword soldiers stationed on the Advent Horizon. On deck, the party sees several people, and deciding that social interaction is best consumed in very small doses, Lucky Six, Pewt, and Kjell all head down to their allotted sleeping-quarters. Avian strikes up a conversation with Paul-Pierre Sournoison and Sandrine Grinda, though the latter is completely overtalked by the former. Paul-Pierre introduces himself as a Merandure regional manager, and his conversation partner as a lower trade secretary. He then asks if Avian wishes to be introduced to the rest of the notables on the ship, to which he points to Ulla Barrom, a Nova Aeran scholar; Hezzand, a dragonborn visiting professor; and Charlotte von Edelweiss, a Zimean charity physician. After a short discussion between the two, Paul-Pierre departs, and so does Avian. The full party spends the rest of the day playing dice: mostly with Jeremy, Richard, and James, three off-duty Flaming Sword soldiers, but in one game they were joined by John Starcross, the unit captain, and Charlotte. Out of the four games that were played for gold, three were won by Lucky Six and one by Charlotte (who conceded her winnings to Kjell, who had been financially ruined by contributing one gold to the pot). After hours of playing, the adventurers eventually went to sleep.
They were woken by heavy footsteps rushing up towards the deck: there had been a murder during the late night. Paul-Pierre Sournoison lay dead in his cabin. Captain Starcross gave an overview of the situation on deck to his soldiers and all passengers. Taking aside the party once they approached, he asked them if they were willing to volunteer to solve the murder, since there were no people on board with experience in murder-solving, except for maybe these unaccounted for individuals. And solving the murder before arrival would significantly cut down the bureaucratic and organisational aspect of hunting down an active murderer. Charlotte, as a physician, provided a preliminary medical examination into the cause of death; there were no signs of struggle, with Paul-Pierre's chest having been surgically cut in a symmetrical fashion with serrated blades. As major arteries had also been severed, she was of the opinion that the Merandure manager had likely expired of blood loss. The party were then granted access to his cabin, which also served as an office. Upon closer inspection and internal deliberation, Avian speculated that the ritualistic cuts in combination with the apparent type of weaponry used could signify the work of the Red Mantis. Lucky Six found a miscellaneous letter addressed to Paul-Pierre during the search. Equipped with knowledge of the murder weapon, Kjell called upon his god to help him locate all swords aboard the ship. Most were naturally in the direction of the soldiers' quarters, but he could also sense some in the nearby cabins. He and Lucky Six decided to search these cabins whilst Avian and Pewt interviewed some of the other passengers. The two noblemen started with the soldiers on the night shift, but did not extract much of note, other than the fact that nothing unusual was heard or seen on deck and that they were all contracted from smaller villages and knew one another. Kjell and Lucky Six placed themselves outside the two cabins with swords in them, and waited for their inhabitants to show up. Kjell stood outside Charlotte's cabin and was invited in for a search. Upon request, she declared that she was in possession of three swords or bladed weapons: a scimitar, dueling dagger, and an enchanted estoc. Kjell inspected all three of them and confirmed that none of these had serrated blades. Finding nothing else out of the ordinary, such as why a Zimean physician used the preferred weapons associated with a very particular Ponvarian duelling style, he left without asking additional questions. Simultaneously, Lucky Six quizzed the scholar Ulla Barrom in her cabin. He was quickly rebuffed in his query since he did not have Kjell's sense which pointed him in the direction of bladed weapons, and therefore waited until he arrived. Once Kjell was on the scene, he could feel that something was located in the direction of her bed. Realising that she was compromised, Ulla made an attempt at a distracting move by giving Kjell a book before casting a spell which inhibited all sound in a radius which covered the whole cabin. She also produced a serrated sword from a hidden compartment in the bed, and a fight commenced. It ended with Pewt knocking her unconscious, and she was apprehended by the Flaming Swords.
Two days later, the Advent Horizon reached Ponvarus. A small detachment of Republican Guards accompanying an official from the Chancellery asked for Lucky Six by name, and gave him a Notice to Appear issued by the Interior Secretariate of the Chancellery:

OFFICIAL MISSIVE OF THE REPUBLIC

In the name of our cherished Liberty and our Lady Justice, the individual known as LUCKY SIX, a Riwenjing warforged, is hereby issued a Notice to Appear before a Separate Panel of the EMINENT CHANCELLERY within 24 hours of this missive being delivered to its recipient. The applicant will identify themselves at the Cardinal Estate in the Arrondissement du Centre and be invited to the Separate Panel chaired by the esteemed Consul Sonia DUHAMEL and joined by the honourable Legate Jeanne TENASSETTE. Before the hearing the applicant will fill out Form I-71 which is available upon request at the Estate Desk Reception. The attendance of the applicant is expected.
Abstain at your own peril.
Peace from Friendship and Trust.

Adjutant Valentin PARLURE
Interior Secretariate of the Eminent Chancellery of Frankonia
Issued tridi, Frimaire, décade 8, MMCCCVI.

Guiding them to the Cardinal Estate, Lucky Six retrieved Form I-71, and the party was given highly specific instructions on how they were expected to behave at the Chancellery's lavish residence by their guide Marcel Devereux. They had been granted a room to stay in before the hearing, and they were instructed not to speak to anyone they saw but were otherwise allowed outside, which led into a common area utilised as a grand dining hall. Whilst Lucky Six filled out the innumerable pages of the form, the others spent some time outside in the dining hall. Pewt and Avian found it in them to walk up to two women, a middle-aged half-orc and a young, dark-haired human, both dressed in the distinctive black-and-white garb of the Consular Vicariate; they intended to initiate conversation with them. Avian quickly realised that the two were in the middle of some sort of meeting, managing to make out hints of encoded language on one of the papers. The two tried to make conversation despite being reminded that they were interfering in Vicariate affairs, even suggesting that they recognised or knew the human woman from somewhere. The Ponvarian local left the table after this, but Pewt remained. After accosting them for the remainder of their dinner, he could finally pin down why he found the human familiar: her facial structure strongly resembled that of Charlotte von Edelweiss. After this incident, the group retreated to their joint chambers and slept until early next day.
They were woken up by a knock on the door at 0530 by adjutant Valentin Parlure, who brought them to the Separate Panel. As detailed in the Notice to Appear, the Panel was led by Consul Sonia Duhamel; also present were Consular Legate Jeanne Tenassette, adjutant Parlure, two secretaries, and four notaries. Avian and Pewt immediately recognised Legate Tenassette, as she was the woman from the day before. The Consul asked Lucky Six some rudimentary questions, to which he found himself unable to tell lies from whence he was seated. After this, the Consul and most of the staff left the room, with the Legate and a secretary remaining. What followed was a somewhat comprehensive and multilingual interrogation, whereby the Legate alternated between the native tongues of each person present in the room. It was made clear that the Consular Vicariate already had some idea of who the party were and what they had been doing, with special emphasis on Lucky Six's military record and subsequent time as a debt-collector in Nova Aera. Ultimately, the Legate informed them that Lucky Six's application process was going to be a lengthy one, and offered them a task they could not refuse in return for expediting this process (and additional incentives, such as cancelling Avian's debt to the Ostenmancs and rescinding legal sanction against Pewt for harassment and interference in Vicariate affairs): enlisting them to aid in the ongoing investigation into the elusive Revenants. This offer was motivated by the party's demonstration of a degree of competence in their successful capturing of a Red Mantis Novitiate. They are now to meet Scimitar, one of the Vicariate's people involved in this operation.

The party unanimously accepted. How will their meeting with their new contact go?

Campaign

By Order of the Constitution

Protagonists

Avian Lucinatus

Chaotic Neutral Aasimar (Failed Merchant)
Divine Soul Sorceror 3

21 / 21 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
16

INT
10

WIS
12

CHA
20

Kjell Dvärgqvist

Dwarf (Acolyte)
Cleric 4

41 / 41 HP

STR
16

DEX
10

CON
16

INT
10

WIS
20

CHA
12

Pewter Pohw'bo'm Pangloss II

Lawful Good Astral Elf (Penurious Noble)
Monk 3

28 / 28 HP

STR
13

DEX
19

CON
14

INT
14

WIS
18

CHA
14

Lucky Six

Neutral Good Warforged (Derelict Artisan)
Artificer 3

24 / 24 HP

STR
11

DEX
16

CON
14

INT
18

WIS
13

CHA
13

Report Date

24 Jan 2023

Primary Location

Ponvarus

Related Characters

• Jeanne de La Brouhaha
• John Starcross
• Joruba de Ponvarus