It is spring of the year 500 A.O.V. (After Our Victory). Seven years after the end of the Fourth Yerasol War, the shipyards in Flint have completed the first Risuri warship powered solely by steam engine, not sail. Your monarch, King Aodhan, has come to Flint to witness the official launch of this mighty vessel. Wooden-hulled but with a heart and skin of iron, the Royal Naval Ship Coaltongue will act
as a deterrent against future aggression from Risur’s enemy across the sea, the nation of Danor.
The Royal Homeland Constabulary has been called upon to provide security, and you have spent the past several weeks working to make sure this event goes off without a hitch—canvassing the docks, performing background checks on the guest list, coordinating with the local police to set up a perimeter around the royal docks, and following various directives of your superiors.
Now, as a warm breeze off the sea mingles the scents of elaborate floral decorations with the pervasive coal soot that always hovers over Flint, you’re at the first of two checkpoints, working with Flint police to let in a crowd of local citizens who just want to line the streets and cheer their king.
A crowd of hundreds wait at a security checkpoint. In half an hour they’ll line up along streets to cheer the king’s arrival, and you must make sure no one dangerous gets through. You can’t just question the whole crowd, however. You need a clear idea of what appearances or mannerisms might be clues that someone’s a threat for the four groups the Royal Homeland Constabulary have identified as the most likely to attempt something - the Dockers, angry about there recent treatment, the Primalists, angry at new industry, the Gale, agents of the Fey and war veterans, angry that the ship's designer is a Tiefling.
Dockers are usually burly working men with eclectic fashion.
Primalists have particular hairstyles, wear sandals, and adorn themselves with druidic religious icons.
Fey saboteurs are typically elves or half-elves with impeccable grooming from their rituals, though they often try to hide this by dressing in soot-stained clothes.
War veterans will usually be either in the mid- to late-twenties, or late-ffties/early-sixties, usually in better fghting shape than common citizens.
Everybody had problems, didn't they? Still, the rising tide of industry would ultimately help them... and it was the job of the RHC to stop people from disrupting the King's goals. Fortunately, they were a rather meritocratic organization... and they were used to getting things done.
Knowing the traits of the locals wasn't much of a problem for her, given all the time she spent with the groups. Performing all around the city, aside from being fun, had definitely paid off. Now she just had to put that knowledge into practice...
Having identified the most likely trouble-makers, the next trick was to find them. The crowd was gathered in roughly four large groups. Two of those groups were being examined by other officers, but being as understaffed as ever, two of them had been left for your eye. There were a number of ways to do it, of course - scanning the crowd yourself (Perception), gathering local police officers to help you (Diplomacy or Profession (Soldier), asking some of the local ragamuffins to look for likely lads (Diplomacy or Knowledge (Local)) or mingle with the crowd, to see what you could feel (Sense Motive).
And you'd need to check each section of the crowd separately.
Oh, it would've been nice if her 'friend' could spontaneously generate eyeballs to track the crowd... and Hime sighed a bit and focused inwards.
Earlier that morning, she'd performed her daily ritual. Milo of Clyde was a cunning detective, and she was able to make a good pact with him a little more than half the time. As an officer of the law, she managed to be one of his favored allies more often than might be expected, but that hadn't been the case here. On the bright side, she hadn't BROKEN the law, either, and that fulfilled one of the totems - mystic attributes that appealed to Milo and made it easier to convince him to help her that day. Given the nature of the day's work, she'd also negotiated for his powers as a Lore Consultant, so he could whisper information into her ear if she missed it.
---
After verifying that Milo was ready, Hime turned her gaze outward, focusing on each segment of the crowd in turn as she worked to check for trouble spots. Honestly, though, there were a lot of people... and after a few moments, she knelt down next to some children and put on her most charming smile as she started enlisting their help. You didn't need to do everything by yourself, after all, and children tended to be great at spotting people who were likely to make trouble.
It took time, about 20 minutes in total, but you were able to identify half a dozen likely suspects from the crowd who matched your profile, thanks to the reports from the children. Most of them were dockers, semi-drunk and rowdy at the idea of a party.
Now, you must identify if any of the suspects are here to cause trouble, and who is guilty. Failure to identify the right people means time wasted, and it's only a few minutes before the party goes are let through to see the ship's launch.
You can confront each witness (sense motive), you could pretend to be friendly and see what slips (Bluff), you could continue watching the fewer individuals and see if they let something slip (Perception) or you could recruit a few of the more subtle officers on duty, and snatch ease of them for questioning...so long as you can do it without making a fuss (Stealth).
You have enough try five times before the gates open.
Unfortunately, dealing with everything that could happen in a larger crowd was harder than it looked, and attempts to either be friendly or scan the crowd didn't work very well, probably because of how on-edge some of these people were. Fortunately, things got easier later as she simply worked to be sneaky.
...That was harder than you might think, given the kinds of clothes she wore for the region's warm climate, but sometimes it was easiest to hide in plain sight, and she dd make a good distraction so the other officers could get to work. She was also quite willing to use Milo's Truthtelling on anyone they asked her to.
Your first attempt was good, and you quickly spot a man trying to avoid the gaze of the officers guarding the gates. Snagging him quickly, you aren't able to find much out from the locals, nor spot anyone else in the crowd.
As your time ticks down, you return to the man you've apprehended - Coulton - and a quick chat reveals a lot. Not that he's instantly willing to tell you anything, as he fancies himself a hard man, but by his eyes and demeanor you're able to spot two more suspects. Working with the local officers, you manage to get both of them into custody.
All three men carry bruises and scrapes - likely from Docker scraps with the police - and all three are armed with concealed knives and leather armour under their clothes - neither of which is illegal, but which they also can't explain as wearing to a street party.
As the gates open and the crowd begins to filter through, you spot another disturbance - a bulky, dark-skinned man with a long scar over one eye and the bearing of a man who has seen combat has been stopped by the gate officers. Two of the men with you are watching him with a look of dread, but the third is watching the crowd go in.
"What's his story?" Hime asked the officer closest to her, mulling over whether or not she should go and give the other officers some support. "Need me to... encourage... him to go away?" Some people went straight for the violence - but she was rather good at affecting people's minds, and a simple suggestion might be all that was necessary to get him to head off.
The officer nodded, leading Hime over to the man causing a fuss. It didn't seem as though he was being especially violent, he simply wanted to enter and didn't arrive in time to be allowed inside. The man looks over at Hime, then the three men she'd caught. "Where's Dafton? Did you manage to stop him too?" He shakes the hands of the constables trying to restrain him off, and adjusts his jacket. "Those three meatheads are pretty harmless...but Dafton?" He makes a gesture with his hands. "Dafton got plans. He intends to assult the Govenor. I can help you find him, but..." He looked at Hime, expectantly.
Hime looked at the man for a moment. Dafton, Dafton... was that a name she'd heard before?
Milo? Do you know him? she queried mentally, figuring that it was worth asking her partner just to be sure. If there was credible evidence someone was planning a disturbance, she needed to take care of it.
Dafton is a Docker, but he was once in the Navy. He's been one of the more vocal voices for doing something dramatic to make people realize they couldn't keep treating the Dockers like scum.
You also recognize the man before you - Thames Grimsley. He's the unofficial head of the equally unofficial Docker's Guild, although they're trying hard to establish one. He's been trying to keep his people from making trouble or getting into fights, feeling that a reputation for violence isn't going to help the Dockers get what they need.
Hime nodded slightly. She could understand the Dockers' grievances... but she didn't think that violence was the correct way to resolve their problems. More to the point, Gimsley here had a reputation, and it was highly unlikely he'd be here with information unless he felt it was credible. Ah, it was so nice when people had reasons to cooperate with the RHC. "But?" she prompted. "Don't worry, Mr. Grimsley - the RHC exists to serve and protect Risur. The Dockers are Risur's people, too, even when they have disagreements with others... and if we can resolve this peacefully, we will."
"But the message needs to be sent, just not through a thrown fist." He tooks a slow breath. "We're tired of the local cops givin' us a kicking just because some noble doesn't like being made fun of in a tavern song or two. And we're not happy our people have started bein' arrested because they can't work 16 hours straight loading and unloading cargo that weighs more than they do. You promise to tell him that, and I'll tell you how to spot Dafton."
"I promise." Hime said - and she meant it, too. Anybody who wanted to help keep the peace in town was all right in her book. Of course, you had to tread carefully with some of the nobles. The RHC could always try outright ordering them to act a certain way, but that was chancy at best. Better to convince others to settle it properly - usually by showing them the benefits of another course of action. That was generally the way King Aodhan did things, and the RHC took their direction from him. That, and the line about arrests bothered her...
She glanced at one of her fellow officers. "Note that down so somebody can handle it if I'm not able to look into it today, would you?" she asked. If people were actually getting arrested for not being able to work such a long day of labor, somebody was almost certainly exceeding their authority... and while she was currently assigned here, one way or another she wanted to be sure it got taken care of.
Thames nods. "Dafton always wears an old sea coat. He'll shave his hair and beard off before getting rid of the thing. It's faded navy blue, and the right arm has been restitched with dark red thread."
Hime quietly jotted down the information, occasionally glancing back up at Thames as she wrote. "And do you know where he's most likely to be right now?" she asked, working to get as much information as she could. "Is there likely to be anyone else with him?"
"Heading towards the Governor, and no, you seem to have already caught the three numpties he had with him." Thames glared at the three troublemakers.
Hime nodded, first to the man, then to her fellow officers. If somebody was threatening the Governor, they were duty-bound to act... but they couldn't simply abandon their post. "I'll take care of it." she said, mentally pulling up what she'd been told of the Governor's schedule and heading in that direction. Best to put this problem to bed early... before it exploded into something worse.
It doesn't take too long to spot a man fitting the description, his freshly shaved hair too pale to have been gone long. He's slowly working his way to the front of the crowd, where they Govenor awaits his time to speak.
Hime considered for a moment, then made her way closer to him and focused from behind. Her powers as an Eliciter were really quite useful... and they'd hopefully be enough to end this without issue. With a brief moment of concentration, she sent a mental command his way.
Avoid the security by moving to the back of the crowd.
Mind magic could be touchy - you couldn't just go around demanding people go against their basic natures. Minds were powerful, after all, and could resist things like that much easier. Instead, she was trying to influence his desire to not get stopped... and if he could be pulled out of the crowd, he'd be much easier to handle.
The man's will collapsed completely. Doubts assailed him, and even a swig from a bottle of something that made others in the crowd step back from the smell wasn't able to fortify his confidence. He stopped, and then began to fall back towards the rear of the crowd, before trying to head for the gate unnoticed, looking ill.
Hime blinked slightly, a little surprised by how well that had gone. She wasted no time at all maneuvering behind him as he headed towards the gate.
A quick, nervous glance around didn't spot anything, and the malcontent kept moving.
After the man had finished looking around - he was really out of it, wasn't he? - Hime signaled to the closest group of normal constables, including the gestures directing them to take the target into custody and that he was a potentially serious troublemaker. The RHC didn't always make the arrests themselves, and indeed, ensuring the regulars got to do their part helped keep relations between the two groups reasonably good. While they were doing that, she kept her power ready to hit him with another blast. Her charms usually lasted for a couple of hours when vague, or until a specific task was done. Once he actually got out of the area, he'd probably snap out of it, and she wanted to get him taken in before that happened.
She subtly shifted into her Pugilist Stance, too, just in case it was necessary.
The man looked like he was going to put up a fight...but once he realized he was out numbered and surrounded, he didn't bother, simply raising his hands with a sigh.
With the situation on the bridge pretty much under control, you can return to your duties.
The first of the noble carriages have begun to approach the royal shipyard, and already the crowd on the bridge is doing its job: cheering, throwing flowers, and performing folk songs and dances to show their support.
Before things get too busy, your direct superior—Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft—asked you to come to a last-minute meeting to give you your marching orders. You find him chewing a bit of tobacco and eyeing a halfling chef who is carrying a tray of chocolate confections toward the docked Coaltongue. His attention turns to you, and he smiles. “Only the finest for our king, right?"
“Now then,” he says, “we’re about to earn our pay. Lots of nobles about, so first,don’t make a scene, and definitely don’t talk to any of the nobility unless they address you first."
“Second, if something does go wrong, try to handle it yourselves, would you? I’m going to be busy applying my not-inconsiderable charms to very important people. The Constabulary doesn’t get by with just good will and pretty faces, you know."
“And third, you did good work, so I’ve got a surprise for you.” He grabs his cane and leads you to the gangplank of the Coaltongue. But he’s not pursuing the halfling chef. Rather, ahead of you waits Principal Minister Harkover Lee, the king’s chief advisor and personal bodyguard. "Actually, the old man has a surprise for you, in fact."
Wiping his brow, the Principal Minister nods to you both. "The ship's been checked for magical dangers and mechanical foul play, Detectives, but I really feel we need a representative of the RHC onboard the Coaltoungue. The king has an announcement to make after the fireworks, and there are a few...people on board worth keeping an eye on. Delft has informed me that you would be able to help us tonight."
Hime dipped her head respectfully. "The RHC is always at the service of His Majesty's government." she said. "Can you tell us who you're most concerned about?" The more she knew about potential troublemakers, the better. Of course, as they'd said, this would need to be handled... delicately. Those who'd be onboard here would probably be resistant to mental magic, so she probably couldn't rely on simply stopping trouble that way. Still, nobody had ever promised this job would be easy, and the RHC existed to handle the tougher matters. She had every intention of doing them proud.
"Let us simply say that anyone I have evidence for is not here tonight, and that anyone I merely suspect is beyond reproach," he said, looking at a check point as a larger lady of senior years and her pretty Elven handmaiden climb down, someone you recognize as Duchess Ethelyn of Shale...Sister to the King. "But not everyone appreciates the work to advance the nation the Coultoungue represents."
"...I see." Hime noted. She was in an interesting position, herself. The evidence suggested that the pact magic she used was... old. And she didn't really use much technology. However, she also believed that times would change no matter what, and that you couldn't remain the same forever. "Well, let us hope that everyone remains there. Is there anything else we can help you with today, Principal Minister?"
Smiling slightly, he shooed her off with his hand. "No, no, feel free to mingle. Have some food. I'll see you aboard ship, although I expect my attention will be otherwise occupied. Now if you'll excuse me, I must finalize a few details before his Higness arrives. If you have any issues, please direct them to Detective Delft." He bows to you both before heading off.
The Detective watches him go, before picking up a drink. "And remember what I said about bothering me tonight, Hime. Only if you truly must." Nodding, he headed into the crowd of people as well, limping and leaning on a cane for support.
There are a number of interesting people who look approachable. A tiefling with two bodyguards stands to one side, eating something from a small plate, and a tall bearded human is chatting intently with a Dwarf, cigar smoke flowing from both in great clouds. The Duchess and her handmainder have taken some seats. The Gangway to the Coaltoungue herself is heavily guarded, and no one is being allowed aboard the ship at the moment as they await the king.
You can hear the crowd's murmur back along the bridge and in the square nearby.
Well, anyone with bodyguards was probably among the nobility, or at least too important for casual chats. She mentally filed their descriptions into her mind, striding towards the gangway and showing her badge to let them know who she was. She didn't bother trying to push through - there'd be time enough for that later. For now, though, it looked like there wasn't much to do except wait.
The guards block you, noting your credentials but explaining that having ben checked, the next people to board would be the king's party - no exceptions. No one was allowed off for now, either.
As you watched the guest, you felt someone approach. Turning, you see the Duchess and her handmaiden. The Dunchess nods gracefully, and asks, Excuse me young lady, as I understand it the constabulary are partially in charge of this event. Mr brothers party promises to run long - they usually do - and these old bones would like to rest a bit before it begins. Would you be so kind as to find a quiet room where I can lie down?"
That was something you'd usually ask of a servant, but Hime responded anyway, with a courteous bow deeper than the one she'd given to the minister. Ranks were important. "Of course, Duchess. I'll see to it as soon as they start letting us onboard." she couldn't push onto the boat early, after all... but she could take care of the issue as soon as it was opened up and finding a room would be possible.
The Duchess regally nodded her thanks. A few moments later, trumpets called out on the Bridge, and the Duchess and others moved to greet the king.
The King's carriage rattles across the bridge, and it pulls up before a small crowd of children, cheering and singing the national anthem. Roland Standfield, Governor of Flint. After a moment the King himself, an unassuming but fit looking older man, emerges from the carriage.
Thanks to your efforts the crowd lacks miscreants, and the King is able to enjoy a walk to the ship serenaded by nothing worse than the cheers of his people and the children's occasionally off key singing. Reaching a small stand near the ship's bow, he takes his place and begins, his voice magically augmented so everyone in the crowd can hear him as though they were standing by his side.
"My countryman," he began, "You all know how I came to power. It was by seizing a ship, not unlike the one behind me, from our foes at the time. Now that such hostilities are in the past, it's important that we, as a nation, look to the future. While we must always remember our past, the bedrock upon which we build, we must remember to keep building. This ship is just one step towards that future...but it's a vital one. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you all..,the Royal Navy Ship Coaltoungue." With an easy movement the king picks up a heavy champagne bottle, and shatters it against the ship with an easy swing. As the bottle strikes the ship's steam whistle shrils out a signal, and the first roar of black smoke bellows from the smoke stack.
The crowd roars its approval and the King and his group head up the gangway, followed the guests as the party starts to move aboard the ship.
The security guarding the boat had the eyes on the crowd, and she could leave that part to them. Instead, Hime focused on His Majesty - her ultimate boss - to watch for any trouble in that regard as she waited for her turn to board. Assuming there were no problems there, she'd find one of the crew as soon as she could, getting directions from them to a room the Duchess would find acceptable.
It doesn't take long to find a young petty officer - Elian Aughtbrook - who has been assigned to help visitors and guests with any issues. He happily arranges for the Duchess to a small stateroom meant for visiting dignitaries. The Duchess nods her thanks to you both as she and her handmaiden are led away by the happily chattering Elian, who is trying to make conversation he thinks the nobility will enjoy, while Ethelyn either expresses or feigns interest with skill.
The first officer calls from an upper deck that the ship will reach it's destination in a little over an hour, and that refreshment is available in the capacitor room. Tours of the ship is also avaiable to all who wish to see the Kingdom's latest wonder and understand more about how she works, the first of which the King himself shall join.
As the warship pulls out of harbour, eight more escort ships form up around her. The Coaltoungue chugs the water at a steady pace, although probably not as fast as she could, and smoke and steam billow from the stacks in rhythmic puffs.
After a moment of consideration, Hime decided to go along on one of the tours, both to get a better understanding of the vessel (in case she needed to get somewhere in a hurry) and to go through different areas and try to get a read on the crowds.
The tour stopped at three locations - the first was the ship's bridge, where for a few minutes you could watch the King interact with the bridge crew, getting to adjust the course and let off the steam whistle.
The next was one of the ship's magazine, where a young guard named Divianne Athel explained the fire wards that protected the explosives and ammunition within. All fire of any kind was stopped as long as the fire ward remained, making it impossible to set the magazine off - either accidently or on purpose. She even jokes with the King that she hopes someone brings her a plate of food later, as she won't have a chance to leave her during the event.
Finally, you arrive in the boiler rooms, where three men work shirtless to shovel firegems into the might boiler that drives the ship fowards. One of them, the smallest and weediest, takes time to explain what some of the intricate piping and dials mean, showing the controls and emergency valves, explaining how the boilers have been designed to avoid any accidents or problems if damaged. He keeps shooting Hime longing glances during his speech, obviously intrigued by a pretty girl in the engine room.
The tour finished in the capacitor room, where long tables covered in the finest foods and drink sit beneath a metal ceiling occasionally covered in arcing silver energies. The capacitor room was designed to store energy from the boilers to fire the ship's main weapon - the Brand, a massive energy cannon mounted on the prow. The Brand is operational, but has yet to undergo the final fine tuning that will turn it into a fully operation weapon.
Hime took a few moments to admire the cannon. She wasn't going to lie - she liked big ones. They represented power, tamed to human will... although hopefully the fey wouldn't be too harsh about it. She also gave a smile to the boy in the boiler room, and paid attention to his explanation. This was a new ship design, after all - if something went wrong, they'd probably have to shut the whole thing down, and knowing how to do that properly was important. These things weren't glamorous... but she was an officer of the RHC, and it was her duty to be informed.
She took only a light snack from among the tables after the tour, to quiet her stomach and stop it from distracting her. Nothing seemed out of place anywhere she looked, but it was still much too soon to let her guard down. Instead, she quietly began to mingle with the (non-noble) guests and crew, trying to gather what information she could before the party truly began.
Mostly you hear information about the ship, as many people are talking about it. As well as the Brand, the ship carries 24 more standard cannons on her gun decks, and despite her looks she's an ironclad - a wooden hull with metal riveted to it. Many of the crew talk about the stress of having the King and his guests onboard what is, of course, a warship. Others note that some guest or another has been picking at the Golden Seal - thin gold wire run through the ship, which blocks teleporting on or off the vessel.
At one point, you even overhear the King himself, talking to the Principal Minister about his indigestion. "One of the local archfey is upset I sailed my ship,” he guesses, laughing it off. “One of the burdens of kingship; the fey can really let me know when they’ve got an opinion. I always get burps that taste like fish when I sail these days.”
Did he? That was interesting. She'd never been entirely clear on how the connection between the nation's ruler and the archfey actually worked... although the disapproval of the fey was hardly a reason for humanity to stop doing what it wanted. She respected them, of course - but the fey did not rule Risur. The bit about picking at the seal was interesting, though - people knew exactly what it was for, and she took a few moments to find a crew member and instruct them to repair it and check the rest, just in case. The last thing they needed was a horde of troublemakers warping onto the ship in the middle of His Majesty's speech.
The crewman nodded and had a small detail repair the gold. While the damage likely wouldn't harm the spell it was worth being cautious. It was unusual to find someone who could teleport much further than the escort ships, but...well, there was a King onboard.
With that done, there was a few minutes where the party settled down. Hime had the chance to grab some food, talk to one of the people she had met, or something else entirely.
Eventually, Hime made her way down towards the Duchess' cabin, to see if her companion was available. The Principal Minister had been looking their way when mentioning his thoughts earlier, and someone in his position generally didn't do things like that for no reason. Of course, more than specifically suspecting the duchess and her companion, it was more like she ultimately suspected everyone and just following what leads she had, however small they might be. If it turned out to be nothing, that was good. Otherwise? It was good that she'd bothered to check.
As you approach the cabin, her Handmaiden is standing before the door looking the other way. As she hears your footsteps she turns and jumps slightly, her eyes widening in surprise. "Detective!" she exclaimed loudly, "You startled me. What brings you to this part of the ship?"
So the woman's first thought of her was as a detective... interesting. (It was true, the RHC did that sort of thing, but it was hardly an exhaustive list of what any given officer might end up doing. And she hadn't exactly introduced herself earlier.) "Just looking around." Hime answered calmly. "Also, it probably won't be too much longer until the party starts. I know how important the duchess' rest is, but I'm sure she'd also prefer to avoid any embarrassment from being late."
The woman is not quite what she seems. She is infact a high elf, but it's not unusual for high elves, especially women, to pretend to be wood elves in public to avoid any issues their heritage might cause.
She seems to have been looking at a Halfling, who is doing something to a section of the deck plating, whistling tunelessly as they work.
The woman nods. "Oh, of course. We must have lost track of time somewhat. The Duchess is still napping. I'll...go and wake her up. Make sure she is ready. She would hate to be late."
Hime nodded. "Shall I escort the two of you? You came right down this way, after all, and I wouldn't want you to get lost. I've already taken a tour and memorized the layout." she offered.