She turns around, looks at Johnathan and says, "You bringing them in young, aren't you Stovie?"
She then responds " Why thank you young man."
Delft looks you up and down, coughs a bit and says, "Yes constable, I have a wife and she calls me Stovie, short for Stover, which is my given name."
He then asks for his wife to wait outside the office for a bit, spits out another load of chaw and says, "Spill it, son. What's the emergency?"
Cretien stands nearby, glad things have gone back to a semblance of normality.
Delft looks at Falko and says, "Calm down, when did she leave? Where is she going? Do you know what she is doing where she is going?"
He then opens the door out of the room and says, "Is Captain Smith in?"
Chretien, Johnathan and Angus will remember him from the mission to stop the Duchess.
One of the new recruits runs to Smith's office.
Delft turns back, "Give me all you got!"
Delft then says, "Great, where do you need to go?"
Captain Smith a 37 year old commander that transferred from the Navy after the 4th war, a decorated first mate during the conflict has never commanded a vessel in combat, comes into the room with a large sea chart and unfurls it on the table, takes out a large ruler, a compass and a grease pencil and says, "Show me where."
I am not sure i understood everything myself ACI but the creature is planning to open some of the Gate of the Ancient in order to further its plans. My own personal hypothesis is that this creature intents no to conquer as in rule over us but to simply destroy. There seems to be a connection with the Plane of Ruin behind the "Alien" he says in a ushered tone so that only those i the party and the ACI can hear him
"The voyage will have its own complications, but I will help as much as I can..."
Johnathan points at a spot in the middle of the ocean between us and the island, then looks at Falko meaningfully.
"Sir, it seems like I can't make the viscount's party tonight if I'm going off to hunt a possessed archaeologist." He says, and fetches a pen and paper and begins to write and apology to the viscount.
Delft looks at Captain Smith and says, "Captain, how long will it take for one of our vessels to get there?"
The Captain says "Well, well our two cutters should take about seven days to make the journey. The Invincible would take three days, but she's in dry dock for a refit. Our steam cutter or our excise cutter could be outfitted with two weeks of supplies and ready to sail, if we start now by noon tomorrow."
Delft then says, "Falko, do you know what kind of ship Dr. Meredith set sail in? If she took any other than a military ship she, would only get there an hour or so before you anyway. She is a an archaeologist? And from what you told me about the ziggurat, she would need at least a couple of days to get whatever is in there out. Look, you will be traveling into foreign waters, I suggest you bring some sailors with you. It will be better to have some backup. Asher, so you don't have to miss out on the party."
Johnathan sets a gentle hand on Falko's shoulder. "It will help."
Delft says, "You have no idea what is waiting for you out there. Especially where she is going."
"Well s$@&!" Asher says, realizing the difficulty with their pursuit.
Johnathan follows Falko quietly, but about halfway there Falko easily spots him. He waves awkwardly and comes over embarrassed.
"Just...didn't want you going off alone."
He'll go with Falko to the meeting if he allows, or else he'll go back to HQ.
Asher
The Viscount is staying at the island of the governor’s mansion. It's the best address in town, and all the nobility is there, including apparently the King but you aren't able to spot him. Asher is like a fish out of water. You wander the lavishly appointed rooms aimlessly as the beautiful people party. Energetic music, lavish choreographed dances, and heated arguments fill the night, culminating in a drunken general throwing a pie out a window for reasons that aren’t quite clear.
Near the end of the night, the Viscount finds you and Willie drinking alone on the balcony. He points at the sea, smoking a cigar. 'I'm so glad you could make it Officer Asher', he shakes your hand formally and then looks at Willie and says [b]'I hope you both have enjoyed yourselves.' He continues quickly, since Asher obviously didn't. 'I have read your reports on your mission to Drakr. Very impressive. You remind me of a young Saxby. I can see politics aren't your thing. Fair enough - there are enough politicians out there already. But have you considered a higher station in the RHC, or perhaps a return to the navy or navy in a leadership position?' he inquires.
Chretien, John, and Falko
of Bosum Strand, memorable for the cobbled-together statue that stands
by its entrance, an assortment of flotsam and jetsam assembled into the
shape of a sitting man deep in thought.
You get there a bit early and decide to mingle a little and check the place out:The tavern has seven main sections.
The bar, with stools for ten and tables f * or an additional thirty.
* The common room, with tables to seat sixty on the ground floor,
and another forty on an upstairs balcony. Each floor has a lavatory
with plumbing.
* Patio behind the building with seating for ten and the titular
“thinking man” statue.
* The game room on the ground floor, which seats thirty; there is a
pool table and a storage closet that holds various game supplies.
* The riot room on the uppermost floor. It has limited dining space,
but its chairs are usually claimed by writers, artists, and philosophers who just want to sit in a dormer window, drink, and scribe, sketch, or share their latest thoughts.
* The kitchen, on the ground floor in back, with the many necessary
pantries and supplies.
* The basement, seldom used to begin with because it gets moldy,
has flooded to ankle-deep since the city-wide tremors started.
Mostly just used as a joke at the expense of new employees who
ask where to find something, since nothing’s down there.
You eventually sit down and order a few drinks and then Grimsly. Johnathan and Chretien recognize him from the launch of the Coaltongue and Falko from the Skyseer event. A grizzled sailor, still with a full head of hair in his early
50s, Grimsley acts as head of the dock workers guild
in Flint. He looks you all up and down and says, "Look, you constables gotta help, Rock has gotta hit out on him. And the local cops, don't respect us working types ya know whattay mean. Constable Falko, we know yer oneva us. Rock is a braggard but he is a good'n, he is, could ya at least speak wit him?"
Cretien says nothing, not being one of the "working types", but sits there waiting for his colleague to intervene. He thinks about heading to the riot room, to take the pulse of the "thinkers" in this city.
Johnathan stays near Falko, glancing at all the people. He taps his thumb to each fingertip in succession at his side, fiddling nervously. Each tap makes a tiny spark that lingers on the wooden floor a moment before dying.
"Rock does need help," he says absently in response to the docker, staring at the flame of a nearby wall sconce.
"Sir, I have thought about returning to the Navy every day since I was released... ... I miss the feel of the waves rocking the ship beneath my boots..." He smiles, remembering the sensation. "Even the camaraderie."
He pauses again, remembering the others. Falko, clearly not the best swordsman but charging in all the same. Johnathan being the young, rational person among the mad. Angus and Cretien as well, one on the cutting edge of technology, and the other tragically lagging behind the tech but succeeding all the same... "But there are comrades in the RHC as well. I'd feel responsible if I were to duck out of my current assignment so quickly."
He remembers the boy's gun backfire again, the final shout, the last breath of the child whose firearm Asher didn't have time to properly maintain during the stress of responsibility and war, and knows he can't yet handle the responsibility of his subordinate's lives. And Asher didn't delude himself... The alien creatures beyond understanding, the Fey god rising from the swamps and resurrecting some washed out, drunken soldier from his death, the mystery and subterfuge required to kill and run from the law... The RHC was fighting a war, a war that a simple soldier would never face, yet a new member of the RHC stationed in the homeland would come across on their average weekend... The RHC was fighting a war! Not on the borders of Risur all the time, but also within it.
He doffs his ridiculous hat to the Viscount, its feather drooping over the bright colors forced upon him by his government's veteran rehabilitation specialist. "I'm not yet ready for the desk. I died a few days ago, and I'm eager to continue firing bullets for king and country. He bows over his hat and gives the Viscount a predator's grin.
"Now Viscount, you promised me and my second here..." gesturing to the one-legged Willie. ... expert former killers of Risur's enemies, and the sharing of stories and legends over a whiskey. I'm sure we have many stories to hear, and many to tell.
Chretien, Falko, Johnathan
Partaay
'Every organisation has some bad seeds. It's my job to root them out, as you know. Even those under your direct influence may not be above suspicion'. He turns, 'No, no!', he waves his glass of champagne. Then throws it out the window, then pulls out a flask from the inside of his tunic and says, "Yes, whisky is what you want, well, this malted rye aged in Oak barrels brought in from shale, should hit the spot. It's my grandfather's recipe."[b] he then continues [b]'We won't discuss that here. I imagine you will defend your team to the end, officer. I have an agent conducting an audit of your team members, and we'll deal with the consequences when she reports back. On you personally, however, my agent has found nothing. Which does not surprise me.'
'Consider the Flint RHC. Inspectress Saxby might decide to aim for other challenges, more befitting of her talents.' He points behind you through the huge glass windows where Saxby is conversing animatedly with a group of leading politicians, laughing sweetly in a manner you have never seen before. 'Delft is next in line but who will step into the ACI's shoes.?...' He looks at you carefully. [b]"Delft, spends so much time behind a desk more due to his limp then anything else. But don't get it twisted he is still running agents in the city as we speak." as he points to Delft with his wife.
Perception DC 25 on Delft
The viscount says "I have heard that you are taking the ship tommorrow, chasing a murderer connected to the aliens. If you want I can send with you ten crack sailors who to serve board your ship and two cannons."
Angus
CFJ
Grimsley says, "Yeah the Vekeshi. Some sirt of secret followers of the Fey, they blame us workers fer everyting. They hates us."
Falko
Angus
Asher grins when the Viscount pulls out a flask of his grandfather's recipe. "If you're sharing your stashed drink, then..." Asher pulls out a flask of his own, and gestures for Willie to do the same. "Ours isn't quite so prestigious though it does have a pedigree. Willie owns a bar down near the harbor, and manages to trade for a few barrels of what they serve on our navy ships. The both of us still have an acquired tongue for the stuff."
He nods somberly about the inspection, remembering the manner in which he was introduced to his current team, and some tension to do with a dead mayor.
Asher gives a look at Delft when the Viscount gestures.
"Trusted crew and cannons? Sir, I accept."
Asher
The Viscount smiles and gets a waiter to bring a few glasses and you start to drink.
Angus
CFJ
CFJ
Angus
Asher smiles at his crafty ACI, gaining respect for the man who usually seems so absent minded.
He shares his drinks and stories with the Viscount from their times at war.
CFJ
Angus
Asher