Mummy's Mask

Game Master Samy

As the group makes their way through the grounds of the Okhenti estate and into the main building, Aleris finds herself nearly overwhelmed by the multitude of stimuli assaulting her senses. The noise of the crowd, the smells of the food, the sights...it was all enough to make her feel momentarily dizzy.

"Whooo..." she breathes, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "This is...so much grander than I'd imagined," she breathes as she looks around. Almost immediately she spots the sweets table and grins. "Ah hah! Just the thing I was hoping to see. I'm going to go see what they have, okay?"

With her intentions stated the sylph flits over to the table full of sweets and pauses a moment, trying to decide what to try first. After a moment she settles on a dish that looks to be some sort of bread pudding topped with raisins, powdered sugar and nuts. As she portions out a small helping onto a serving plate, she tries to see if she can pick up any interesting conversations happening nearby.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

"Well, channeling my sadness into song helps make it go away. I guess I've just found out ways to put myself in a good mood", Sigrun answers with a smile and shrug to Polux, but then quirks a curious eyebrow at what he says. "Really? What happened to them?"

"They tried giving us the laugh, and plodded ahead to our exploration site, in spite of the Church's instructions" - he shakes his head - "From what I understood they seem to think it was their God given right and inspiration to do so, or something of the kind" - the man shrugs and growls, downing his drink - "Bunch of lunatics and their cronies" - then pours another for him and also for Sigrun, taking a moment to admire the beautiful woman, still not believeing why the heck she would take time to sit with him.

"We confronted them" - he shakes the self doubts away - "They decided they wanted to buy a fight with us, and regretted it" - smiles - "It was a hell of a fight, I'll tell you that! Spells and arrows flew, combatants tumbled and fell, punches were thrown and magical items swapped hands more than once, believe it or not!" - then laughs - "We pummeled them hard though. Was fun! Even though for some reason I cannot fathom, my team simply decided to give up EVERY SINGLE piece of loot we took from them to the Church..."

Stopping for a moment, he focuses again on the woman - "Channeling your sadness? Why are you sad Sigrun?"

If there is RP to be done (am I missing any relationship roll?), we can do it in retcon mode Samy?

-----------------------

I'll get to the party later on but... I am still lost regarding my clothes - was there anything specific bought for Polux, or is it up to me to decide what it was?

Polux, you're wearing a loose silk shirt and tailored pants. I'll leave the colors and embroidery to you.

___

Knowledge Nobility: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

As the group strides towards the Okhenti Estate, Harmose gives them all some advice. "Heads up, and backs straight, darlings. We were all invited, and the Okhentis like to think of themselves as hip and forward thinking. They'll embrace anything new, dashing and exciting. That's all of you, darlings. You've been where they would never dare to go, faced death in the eye, and laughed in its face. You're one of the ornaments of this party, so shine and sparkle. You belong here!"

Knowledge Nobility: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

As they arrive in, Harmose nods regally to the guards. He kisses Aleris's hand before she leaves for the sweets table, not caring who is watching. Or perhaps he does care, and wants to make sure that all the other young bucks already at the party know that he's staked a claim on the loveliest girl at the party, the one that drifts in as a fresh spring breeze and always creates a stir when she enters the room.

He looks to his friends and smiles. "Enjoy yourselves darlings, but eat lightly. This is only the first course." He glances around for the hosts, the patriarch Abehn, the young and dashing Khammayid, and any other members he might see.

Have you already named them, Samy? If not, may I?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

He approaches with a gracious smile, ready to kiss the cheeks of the men and the hands of the ladies. "Thank you so much for this invitation, and this lovely party. This will be the talk of Wati for months, I am sure!"

Turel eyes the mass of humanity with his usual stoicness, but deep in his stomach he feels a sense of queasiness.

This...this is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Despite my brother's reassurance I do not think I will ever truly belong here.

He watches Aleris make a beeline for the sweets table and glides over to the tables to check them out. After a cursory examination he finds he has no desire to try any of the exotic sweets, instead helping himself to some ice water and sone dried dates.

Munching on the sweet dates does much to calm his nerves and he glances about him at the other guests wondering what they were all conversing about.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Qari takes a deep breath as she sees the full expanse of the party. She hadn't expected quite so many revelers to be present. She looked around the room for something familiar and comforting. Her eyes locked on the iced cream table. She remembered how delicious t had been st first try, so she dove in to the samples, looking for a way to eat her nervousness at the crowd away.

Well this is defiantly different than the desert. To bad Turel changed. I would if we can get him in that outfit again? Letting herself get caught up in the new to avoid thinking about the few previous hours with a small grin on her face. "How in the world am I supposed to shine or sparkle Harmose?"

Spotting that tail and then noticing where Qari is headed and happily following to eat wonderful frozen bites of paradise. Grinning at Qari, "Are all city parties like this?"

Kito hesitates for a moment, trying to decide which table to go to. Finally she heads towards the one with the sweets.

Taking a custard filled pastry, she also looks for any appetizers with a lot of seeds covering them. Finding a few, she adds those to her plate.

She alternates between taking a bit of the pastry for herself and picking seeds off to feed Thera.

Remember to smile. I'm supposed to mix with the people, talk with these strangers.

"I'm not sure, Des. I've certainly never been to a party like this. So many people. I wish it was about half this size. I'm sure there's a ton of them staring at us. How about you?"

Harmose, I have not named other members of the Okhenti family than patriarch Ahbehn and son Khammayid. If you wish to name others, you may.

While every now and then one of the other guests does look at you in a weird way or give you a sideways glance -- giving the occasional feeling that you aren't exactly part of this crowd -- there doesn't seem to be any outright disaster from breaking any fashion or etiquette rules. Nothing indicates you've done anything wrong per se that would require any course correction for now.

As the crowds shift and move, one part of the main hall is particularly crowded and it's easy to get your toes stepped, an elbow in your eye, or a piece of shattered glass cutting you. Locations: 1) sweets 2) salties 3) hot and cold 4) none of the above

1d4 ⇒ 1

If you're at the sweets table, you take one point of damage from the crowding. If you make a DC 15 Reflex save, you can reduce it to nonlethal. Making a Perception DC 10 check allows you to discern who hurt you, and enables you to demand apology or recompense.

Harmose heads over to where the majority of the hosting Okhenti family are, greeting them and thanking them for the party. He is well received, the Okhentis smiling and shaking his hand and making pleasant small talk with him. "You're from Ipeq, aren't you? I thought I heard something to that effect?", Ahbehn says. "Your family name rings some bells, I believe I may have had some dealings with your kin at some point."

Khammayid stays silent while Ahbehn talks, sipping his wine and peering the situation over the rim of his glass with a raised eyebrow, while Ahbehn runs off a list of names of the aristocracy he knows in Ipeq, asking if Harmose knows this or that person. Mostly, the names he rattles off are female.

Reflex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Perception, w/Thera: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 1 + 2 = 21

Well, that was rude. Still, I do not want to cause a fuss. After all, it isn't like I got hurt.

Kito glares at the woman who nearly knocked her down, but makes no comment. She slowly works herself out of the crowd, looking for someplace where people are talking but it isn't quite so crowded.

As Aleris happily munches on her pudding her keen ears pick up snippets of a conversation happening nearby.

Those voices sound familiar. Wait, is that...?

After a quick glance confirms her suspicions she quickly spins around, putting her back to them and hoping they haven't noticed her standing nearby.

Are they talking about us? Ohhh, I hope nothing's wrong...

Reflex (DC 15): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Suddenly she finds herself caught up in a small stampede as several of the guests decide to converge on the sweets table, letting out a yelp of pain as someone steps on her foot.

"Ow..." she groans as she hobbles out of the way. Spotting Kito also trying to head for areas less crowded, she hurries after her companion. "You too Kito? Next time we'll have to keep our ears open for the sound of rumbling feet," she chuckles.

"I must agree. It seems best not to get between a guest and their sweets." Kito chuckles. She offers Aleris some of the pastry she found. "I did get some of the treasure, though!"

Smiling at Qari, "Any festivities I have been to were much simpler. I could wear what I wanted and nothing was as crowded as this. Even when it was a lot of tribes."

The feel of it was different. More welcoming. This is predatory."[/b] Looking around as she talks then back at Qari, "You don't like the big crowd?"

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

"Yes, I grew up in Ipeq, near the mountains known as the bosom of Isis. Why yes, I know Misterial!" Harmose responds to one of the name prompts, and delicately refrains from stating that he'd had a flirtation with Misterial's husband. "Poor thing is keeping up well, despite her bouts of gout..." He looks at Lady Alisi Okhenti with a nod. "She's fun, but doesn't know the meaning of restraint." Then he pauses. "Lady Okhenti, how do you do it? How do you manage to maintain such an air of elegance? I would have never believed you to be the mother of grown children had I not seen you and your son together."

Before Lady Okhenti can be publicly mortified by her spouse, Harmose delicately shifts the subject to other things, looking to entertain his hosts and maybe draw out the bored Khammayid. If they seem interested, he will tell them a few select and exciting moments from their excavations, like meeting the living sand creature, or finding the story of the lovers from the haunt.

When there is a mad rush to the sweets table, Harmose will pause, but then seeing his love and friends mostly unhurt, calm down and turn back to his hosts. These minor crushes happen at parties from time to time. Still, if it happens again, maybe a word to his hosts and the party can extend into the gardens... He smiles again, graciously.

Qari jumped back at seeing the mad crush of humanity almost overrun everyone at the sweets station. "Enough people to have an interesting conversation is quite pleasant, but enough that all of us are in danger of getting trampled is something else!"

The tiefling looks about, wondering if there was an elevated area that was open to the common partygoers like Des and she, so there might be a touch more room.

Aleris gratefully accepts a bit of the pastry Kito had managed to save from the sweets table. "Thank you! I don't know what it is, but when I'm feeling a little nervous I end up craving sweets," she admits as they find a more quiet corner to observe the proceedings from.

Should I bring up what I overheard now or wait until later? Maybe if I speak Auran...

"මම රසකැවිලි මේසය පමණක් වහගෙන, පෙර කතා...Sebti හා Nahkt Shepses ඇසී," she suddenly whispers. "ඔවුන් දෙදෙනාම ඇත්තටම නොසන්සුන්කාරී පෙනේ. මම ඔවුන් ගැන කතා කරමින් සියල්ල අහුවෙන නොව වගේ මට බිටු කඩුළු 'සම්බන්ධතා මට කියන්න...දෙයක් සැලසුම්' සහ 'මට කරන්න තිබුණු දේ...Harmose...'."

She frowns, looking worried. "ඔබ Harmose අනතුරේ විය හැකි බව හිතන්නේ නැහැ, එහෙම නේද? හෝ අපට ඉතිරි?"

"සැක සහිත, අවම වශයෙන් නොවේ ඔවුන් වෙතින්." Kito responds. Making an effort to put on a smile again, she then asks "Perhaps we try mingling as a pair? Hopefully we would be less likely to get trampled." What was the reason that Harmose wanted us here? Something about a promise I think.

Just a reminder to the player: Kito is a follower of Pharasma. She may not be very devoted, but it is the first church she would try to contact if she needed the help of a church.

"කිසිදු ඔහ්, මම ඔවුන් අදහස් කළේ නැහැ!" Aleris responds hastily. "පසුව සියලු නෑ ඔවුන් අප වෙනුවෙන් කර ඇත. මම එය මට අප පවසන්නේ කරන්නේ වඩා වැඩි එහි යන්න ගැන කරදර කරයි, එච්චරයි බවයි."

Seeing Kito smile, she tries to do the same and put the things she'd overheard out of her mind for the time being. "But there's probably no sense in worrying about it now. May as well enjoy ourselves, right? And yes, let's stick together for the time being!"

Kito looks puzzled, but then gives a shrug and asks "Where to now?" just before taking the last bite of her galaktoboureko

"Do you want to try the hot-and-cold table? If there's another rush it'll probably be for the table with the salty things," Aleris responds.

Kito looks towards the tables, then gives a nod. She feeds the last of the sesame seeds off a different pastry to Thera and then sets her plate aside to be cleared.

Dressed stiffly in his old regimental officer’s uniform, Ra looked distinguished with the blue-silver insignia against the slate cloth. It had been some time since he had last worn it, and it looked tight against his musculature.
With the rest of his companions he walked through the gates in a subdued mood.
Nervously he sidled up to the salties table and sampled some of the delicacies, though he didn’t really notice the taste as he looked around constantly. It was fruitless, as his dwarven height worked against him in this human majority crowd.

'Muminofrah? That one sounds important. I must keep my ears open and my wits about me...' Turel watches the crowds head towards the tables, glad he avoided them at the start. Helping himself to a glass of iced water, he sips his glass and again tries to over more of this mysterious personage.

I've been round and around, but simply cannot find a pic, a drawing, or an image of what I would like Polux's clothing to look like for the event...

That being said, the closest I got was 'tight fitting black pants, with some sort of tunic and overgown going down to... Maybe slightly above the knee - an outfit based on the medjai Ardeth Bay'

Polux stands there for a moment, taking the whole scene in, then decides not to go for any table, instead moving toward Deseri and Qari, grabbing each one of them in one arm, and trying to move them away toward a less 'crowded' area with a smile - "Miladies, you look absolutely breathtaking today" - he offers in a good mood, jesting in an uncharacteristically formal/pleasant tone, as he spirits them away.

Perception?: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Your link does not word dear. But I googled it and I have an imagination.

Grinning at Polux while accepting his arm, "And just where is you think you are leading us? Is it not customary to get a girl a drink first?"

Your link does not word dear. But I googled it and I have an imagination.

Strange... It works for me Deseri :P

Does copy/pasting this work? -> http://evileyes.ethereal-visions.net/images/medjai/Medjai02.png

Grinning at Polux while accepting his arm, "And just where is you think you are leading us? Is it not customary to get a girl a drink first?"

Polux returns Deseri's smile - "That just means we now have a destination, and a purpose" - he presses on, making sure they pass by one of the waiters or waitresses he has seen walking around with trays of drinks - "Be quick, and grab one or three of those will you?"

I figured it was that one.

Reaching out and grabbing three drinks. Handing one to Qari and keeping the other two in her hands, though she does relink her arm to Polux's, "But where is our destination and what is our purpose in this walk. Also I would like to be in the middle next time."

"Good evening, Polux! It's nice to see another friendly face in here. If you want to head to somewhere less crowded, count me in as well," Qari smiles as she links her arms with the others.

Polux seems to trip ever so slightly at Deseri's words, but he keeps on moving - "Just say the word, and the middle is yours" - he adds without looking at her, but still smiling - "With that dress, you should always get to pick Des"

Clearing his throat - "Yes, well... Destination and purpose. I would say some place where we don't get trampled by the famished hordes, so we can have our drinks while observing the room?" - he suggests, looking at the Tiefling and then at the Aasimar.

Hmm, I guess it is married men who stop looking. That is strange. Her grin is becoming more real by the moment, "I have always preferred to be in the middle." Winking at the two with the word 'middle'

Glancing around, "Not being trampled would be wonderful. Though I think we are supposed to getting to know these people. Wasn't there someone Harmose wanted us to met?"

Tilting her head and looking around with a slight leer, "Though I am most interested in finding the creature that has Ra so fearful. But I do not see him. I feel that that person needs to be in my life."

To find Ra!: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 Almost like I knew I would fail that roll

"Good evening, Polux! It's nice to see another friendly face in here. If you want to head to somewhere less crowded, count me in as well," Qari smiles as she links her arms with the others.

"Deal! Just make sure not to spill your drink as we scurry along - I am afraid that would constitute some sort of 'social blunder' in this place" - he laughs.

Hmm, I guess it is married men who stop looking. That is strange. Her grin is becoming more real by the moment, "I have always preferred to be in the middle." Winking at the two with the word 'middle'

"That being the case and if Qari agrees, in the middle you shall be" - he nods - "But first our drinks" - once satisfied they have found at least a tranquil place for the time being, he whirls Deseri to stand between himself and Qari, and extends his hand - "I hope that second drink is for me?"

Glancing around, "Not being trampled would be wonderful. Though I think we are supposed to getting to know these people. Wasn't there someone Harmose wanted us to met?"

"There was..? I admit I do not remember" - the retort seems somewhat distracted by something...

Tilting her head and looking around with a slight leer, "Though I am most interested in finding the creature that has Ra so fearful. But I do not see him. I feel that that person needs to be in my life."

"Yes, where is most honorable master Khefer?" - the man adds, looking around also.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

Laughing though the twirl and handing over one of the drinks, "Of course one of them is yours." Half way there I suppose

Qari laughed at Polux and Des's interactions. "No, you in the middle is quite fine with me, Des. I've no objections there!". She did furrow her horned brow for a moment at Deseri's question. "You know, I think the you are right. For the life of me, I don't remember who, though. Maybe we should find Harmose and get the guy's name again?"

"Okay, hot-and-cold it is! Come on, before the other guests eat it all!" she calls over her shoulder to Kito as she weaves through the crowd towards their new destination. Of course she knew there was little danger of the hosts running out of food but making light of things did wonders for keeping her mind off of more worrying matters.

"Hum...I wonder where everyone else wandered off to?" she muses as she peruses the table and settles on a glass of cold tea for the time being.

No sense in filling up too much now, otherwise I won't be hungry later.

Laughing though the twirl and handing over one of the drinks, "Of course one of them is yours." Half way there I suppose

"Good. Thank you Des" - Polux nods, and raises his glass to his two companions, before drinking from it - "Light and nice. I like it" - he smiles.

Qari laughed at Polux and Des's interactions. "No, you in the middle is quite fine with me, Des. I've no objections there!".

"And that is a perfect reason for the toast" - the man adds, the smile seemingly having taken up residence on his face.

She did furrow her horned brow for a moment at Deseri's question. "You know, I think the you are right. For the life of me, I don't remember who, though. Maybe we should find Harmose and get the guy's name again?"

"You are right - where are they anyway?" - he frowns a bit also - "I was intent on getting the whole group together so we could have a word about giving away all our loot to the church. This may not be the place for it though..."

Grinning and reaching out to poke Polux in the cheek, "You should smile more. It looks much better on you."

Patting his cheek, "And no this is probably not the place for that. You should have done so at the Hooka."

Her eyes widen and she kind of bounces in excitement, "Did you see what Turel had on before he changed? It was wonderful!"

Qari: You find no elevated position, the entrance hall is all single-level. However sticking near the walls and away from the tables and doors will award you the most amount of elbow space.

Harmose does well at redirecting Ahbehn's inquiries about the women of Ipeq. All three -- Ahbehn, Alisi and Khammayid -- perk up with a curious ear at the tales Harmose tells of the House of Pentheru. Alisi gives Harmose a smile when he redirects the discussion, and he believes that she knows what he was doing there. "It takes a lot of time and effort, Harmose. I'm sure you know the sort of things I speak of", the matriarch replies to Harmose's inquiry. "Not the same sort of effort, of course, as your expeditions into the Necropolis. It astonishes me a little that a son of a good family would put himself at risk like that. Surely there would be safer ways to better your position?"

"Ah, but safe isn't always the thing, mother", Khammayid raises his glass in a toast at some of his friends passing by. "I met a lot of people like that in Oppara. They just...can't live sedentary lives. Always have to go for the great risk, great reward. Like that girl I wrote to you about, Velriana?" He sips at his drink. "I wonder if she's going to come."

The entrées are absolutely delightful and of the highest quality. The smells and sights are a level beyond of that of a typical aristocratic party. Clearly, the Okhentis feel that this event is important to them. Because of the amazing quality of the food, you will be required to make three Will saves over the course of the evening -- with the entrées, the main course, and the desserts, to see how much you can resist them. No game mechanical aspects are enforced; you may decide for yourselves in which way to roleplay your roll. At this time, you may make the first Will save versus food.

You have about fifteen minutes to get comfortable in the entrance hall and check out if there are any familiar faces present. The amount of NPCs spotted depends on how many members of your group succeed at Perception DC 10. Each of you gets to roll once, and the number of successes determines the number of NPCs discovered at this point. Any previous Perception rolls do not count for this.

Will save (entrées): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Perception DC 10 auto-succeeds.

Same, Aleris has auto-success on the second check.
Will vs. Food (Entrees): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Although the scent of the entrees makes her mouth water, Aleris' attention is pulled away from the succulent morsels as she spots a familiar face.

"Hey...hey Kito, there's Meehr Zet!" Aleris points. "Let's go say hello!"

Will save (entree): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Hey! This stuff is good!
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6 Kneecaps. Nothing but kneecaps...

Will save versus entrees: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15I did not expect that! Also I will do my more detailed post when I wake. Sleep is calling to me. Four hours is not enough.

Will 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Qari was having a time time eating and drinking with the others, but her attention was mostly focused on the food, not the surroundings of the group.

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Perception, w/ Thera: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 1 + 2 = 13 What, I made one?!?!? What is the world coming to?

Kito nibbles at the entrees. They are excellent, but thanks to Harmose's warning she knows not to eat all of what she takes.

Sorry if I jumped the gun a bit on reacting to the spoiler I made the check for; wasn't sure if we needed to react or just have everyone roll first and then go from there!

Once you've unlocked any of the above by having a sufficient number of successes, any one of you may react to them. The unlocking means you are all then aware of that spoiler.

Looking where Aleris indicates, Kito nods. "By all means, we should thank the person who got us the invite!"

She allows Aleris to lead the way.

While you are mingling with whoever you choose to, the host Ahbehn Okhenti clings his glass a few times to get everyone's attention and holds a brief speech.

"Welcome, welcome, everyone! It's a pleasure to see that so many of those invited have been able to make it. It is after all always a burden if you order up a lot of food and then a lot of it remains uneaten and has to be thrown away. Please, I entreat you, by all means eat, eat, eat, and make sure that I do not have to throw anything away after the party."

"I don't want to bore you any more than this, so welcome, everyone, and I hope you have a wonderful night."

Hearing the host's announcement, Kito remarks "A scholar? I will have to speak with him before the night is over." She doesn't appear to be in a rush however, since she continues to follow Aleris towards Meehr.

Before

Will Save vs Food: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Harmose finds, to his surprise, his appetite returning with the glib company. They actually provided a number of vegetarian appetizers that circled to the nobles on trays. Harmose grabs some garlicky baba ghanouj spread on pita and cucumbers cut into artistic shapes, a few stuffed dates, and assortment of olives.

It is impossible to just eat one!

As Khammayid raises his glass in toast, mentioning Velriana, Harmose sighs. It was so tempting to lie. Harmose was a man that the gods had blessed with a certain glibness of tongue, and a willingness to bend the truth when the ocassion demanded it. He weighs in his mind the possibility of telling an outright lie, or even a half truth about how unreliable taldans were when it came to social engagements. Then he discards it as impractical.

There is no way of getting out of this. If I lie now, it will come to haunt me. Fairly soon, the talk of us bringing the Scorched Hand to justice is going to be the talk of the town...

"Khammayid, may I speak with you privately a moment?" he asks.

Bluff to Share a Secret Message: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Harmose leads the young scholar away from his parents for just a moment.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28

"There are not that many Taldan noble adventurers who would be in Wati... I can only presume that you are referring to Velriana Hypaxes? If so, I have somewhat unfortunate news for you. She's in the custody of Commander Nahkt Shepses of the Voices of the Spire and..." Harmose pauses unhappily. There is no other way to say this. "...I am one of the people responsible for bringing her in."

He continues walking with the young man. "You know how passionate Velriana is about her causes. She ran afoul of the Church of Pharasma's rules about who can explore what sites. Instead of negotiating, she ignored them and went off on our own. The Church assigned my group to bring hers in for questioning. We begged the Necropolis Committee to reconsider or reassign the sites, but the Church insisted that we had to step in."

Harmose gives Khammayid an apologetic and earnest look. "It was not how I planned to start my day today, I assure you. Velriana's team put up a great fight, but we brought her and the rest of her team in alive, and took none of their gear. I did the best I could by her under the circumstances, though I am quite certain that Velriana is spitting and cursing my name even as we speak. You know what a fiery temperment she has."

After

Still trying out the fruit delicacies and a tiny bit of the Ravani cake, Harmose claps along with everyone else for the new scholar. He runs up and hugs Meehr, and then steps back so she could admire the outfit he's wearing. He sees Nakht Shepses, and Sebti, and a chill goes down his spine as he remembers what Sebti told him. He takes Meehr by the arm. Anything would be better than facing Sebti again right now in his mood. "I know how you love politicians. Do you want company when you greet the Governor, or can I go find other entertainment?"